In Year X, 8.7 percent of the men in the labor force were un

In Year X, 8.7 percent of the men in the labor force were unemployed in June compared with 8.4 percent in May. If the number of men in the labor force was the same for both months, how many men were unemployed in June of that year?

(1) In May of Year X, the number of unemployed men in the labor force was 3.36 million.
(2) In Year X, 120,000 more men in the labor force were unemployed in June than in May.


Sol: Let the Number of men in the Labour force be "X"



So the given information in the Question stem can be put in the table as follows

From St 1 we have that 0.084*X= 3.36 Million ----> We can find X and hence find the value of 0.087*X. Sufficient
From St 2, we have that (0.087X-0.084X)= 120,000
So 0.003X= 120,000 We can find X and can find 0.087 X

Ans D

Difficulty level I will put it around 650

In Year X, 8.7 percent of the men in the labor force were unemployed in June compared with 8.4 percent in May. If the number of men in the labor force was the same for both months, how many men were unemployed in June of that year?

(1) In May of Year X, the number of unemployed men in the labor force was 3.36 million.
(2) In Year X, 120,000 more men in the labor force were unemployed in June than in May.

Given that,
(a) Total Men in May = Total Men in June
(b) Unemployed Men in May = 8.4% of Total Men
(c) Unemployed Men in June = 8.7% of Total Men

To find: Unemployed men in June

Statement 1

From (b) above,
Unemployed Men in May \(= 8.4%\) of Total Men

Or, \(Total Men\)\(*(0.084) = 3.36\) Million

Or, \(Total Men\) \(= \frac{3.36 Million}{0.084}\)

Substituting in (c) above, Unemployed Men in June\(= 8.7% of Total Men = 0.087* \frac{3.36 Million}{0.084} = 3.48 Million\)

Statement(1) alone is sufficient .........................(B) (C) E)

Statement 2
Difference in Unemployed Men in June and May \(= 8.7%\) of Total Men\(- 8.4%\)of Total Men =\((0.087-0.084)*\)\(Total Men\)

Or, \(0.003* Total Men = 120000\)

Or, \(Total Men\) \(= \frac{120000}{0.003}\)

Substituting in (c) above, Unemployed Men in June\(= 8.7% of Total Men = (0.087)*(\frac{120000}{0.003}) =3.48 Million\)

Statement(2) alone is sufficient .........................(A)

Answer: (D)

Solution:

Question Stem Analysis:

We need to determine the number of men who were unemployed in June of year X. We can let m = the total number of men in the labor force in both June and May, then the number of men who were unemployed in June is 0.087m (and the number of men who were unemployed in May is 0.084m). We see that if we can determine the value of m, then we can determine the value of 0.087m, i.e., the number of men who were unemployed in June.

Statement One Alone:

We can create the equation 0.084m = 3,360,000, and thus we can determine the value of m and hence the value of 0.087m. Statement one alone is sufficient.

Statement Two Alone:

We can create the equation 0.087m - 0.084m = 120,000 and thus we can determine the value of m and hence the value of 0.087m. Statement two alone is sufficient.

Answer: D

From question data, 8.7 percent of the men were employed in June and 8.4 percent of the men were employed in May. Number of men in the labour force is the same for both months; let the number be 100x.
Then, number of men employed in June = 8.7x and number of men employed in May = 8.4x. The value of 8.7x has to be calculated.

From statement I alone, number of Unemployed men = 3.36 million.

Therefore, 91.6x = 3.36 million. The value of x can be found out from this equation and hence 8.7x can be evaluated.
Statement I alone is sufficient. Answer options B, C and E can be eliminated.

From statement II alone, 8.7x – 8.4x = 120000.

The value of x can be found out from this equation and hence 8.7x can be evaluated.
Statement II alone is sufficient. Answer option A can be eliminated.

The correct answer option is D.

Hope that helps!
Aravind BT

I hate to be so nitpicky, but the question stem asks us the number of unemployed men. Not number of unemployed men in the labor force. Now naturally given that no other information (no of men in country/world etc. has been mentioned) in any other question I would naturally assume that we are asked for number of unemployed men in labor force. But since this is a sufficiency question, can we make such assumptions?

GMATNinja , Bunuel­

 

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Firstly, considering this is an official question, the answer to your question must be affirmative. Furthermore, in the sentence "If the number of men in the labor force was the same for both months, how many men were unemployed in June of that year?" there's already a reference to the labor force in the initial part of the question. Hence, the subsequent query, in the same sentece, must also pertain to the men in the labor force.
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­Ahhh yes. Thank you Bunuel!