The economic recession of the last year has prompted many organizations to make a large number of publicized layoffs, resulting in thousands of lost jobs. Analysts predicted that these layoffs would cause people generally to cut back on their discretionary spending even if their jobs were secure, in anticipation of coming hard times. However, this prediction has not come to pass, since there has been no increase in the amount of money set aside by the general public in savings accounts. The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the significance of the savings patterns described above? A. What business sectors were most affected by the layoffs? B. How much of their savings, on average, do laid-off employees deplete before finding new employment? C. What has been the percent increase in the cost of necessities such as food, housing, and utilities during the period since the layoffs? D. What percentage of people laid off have savings accounts? E. What has been the average salary during the period since the layoffs?

Last visit was: 26 Apr 2026, 16:10

It is currently 26 Apr 2026, 16:10

Toolkit

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

Apr 27
Try OnDemand GMAT Masterclass
11:00 AM EDT
-
12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 26
Score High on the GMAT with Target Test Prep
10:00 AM EDT
-
11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 28
Join - GMAT Day!
08:00 AM PDT
-
11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.

Back to Forum

Create Topic

V01-24

1 2

BrunaSparenberg

Joined: 08 Oct 2022

Last visit: 07 Jun 2023

Posts: 32

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 16

Location: Brazil

Schools: Mays '25 (WL) (A$$$$) Rice Jones '25 (WL) Fuqua '25 (WA$$) McCombs '25 (WL)

Posts: 32

Kudos: 10

10 Dec 2022, 19:29

Kudos

Bookmarks

I think this is a poor-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate.

siddharth_

Joined: 17 Oct 2023

Last visit: 26 Apr 2026

Posts: 74

Own Kudos:

[1]

Given Kudos: 151

Location: India

GMAT Focus 1: 675 Q85 V85 DI80 Verified score

GPA: 8.6

Products:

GMAT Focus 1: 675 Q85 V85 DI80 Verified score

Posts: 74

Kudos: 24

[1]

04 Nov 2024, 22:09

Kudos

Bookmarks

In ref to point 1 here, can you kindly help me understand, how to eliminate B?

Context - Say, all the people stop spending on non-essentials but at the same time people without jobs deplete their savings for essentials - as a result, there's no net increase in the overall savings.

bb

Quote:

va95

I think this is a poor-quality question and I don't agree with the explanation. The wording of this question is ambiguous. It is not clear to who the "general public" refers. As a result, the correct answer could be B as well.

Hi. Thank you for the feedback and your comment.

1. General public is an expression used to refer to everyone living in the country. It is basically all residents.

2. The question does not ask anything related to the laid off workers. It rather asks about a pattern in saving money:

1. Some people are laid off
2. Everyone else gets scared
3. They expect everyone to stop spending and start saving because fear drives this behavior
4. However there is no increase in savings.

Hope this somewhat clarifies.
Thank you for the feedback again - really appreciate it. We regularly review questions (not me, I am just replying) to update and revise them.

Posted from my mobile device

phmahi1997

Joined: 09 Oct 2019

Last visit: 14 Nov 2025

Posts: 107

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 42

Location: Bangladesh

Concentration: Technology, General Management

GMAT Focus 1: 515 Q79 V75 DI73 Verified score

GPA: 2.61

GMAT Focus 1: 515 Q79 V75 DI73 Verified score

Posts: 107

Kudos: 23

17 Jan 2025, 11:24

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful. And a high-quality question, of course!

Founder

Joined: 04 Dec 2002

Last visit: 26 Apr 2026

Posts: 43,163

Own Kudos:

83,730

Given Kudos: 24,681

Location: United States

GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42 Verified score

GPA: 3

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42 Verified score

Posts: 43,163

Kudos: 83,730

17 Jan 2025, 15:49

Kudos

Bookmarks

Thank you. I am actually not a fan of this question so I will take V01-24 out of the question bank.
I feel the last sentence is too vague that talks about the "amount of money in savings accounts" - it is not clear whether that is a percentage, average, or else.

Thank you @siddharth_ for your question! This made me spot it.

phmahi1997

I like the solution - it’s helpful. And a high-quality question, of course!