As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate, less people

Question

As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate,  less people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than  did in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a twenty year period during which people born after the war swelled the ranks of workers.

(A) less people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than

(B) less people will be entering the labor force in the 1980’s as

(C) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s as

(D) fewer people will be entering the labor force in the 1980’s as

(E) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than

Ana4001 · Answer

Two point elimination

People can be Fewer not less so A , b Out

Comparison 1980 than previous so than needed

Answer is E

surendrasaini1 · Answer

As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate,  less people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than  did in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a twenty year period during which people born after the war swelled the ranks of workers.

(A) less people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than( people can be counted so fewer is correct)

(B) less people will be entering the labor force in the 1980’s as( same as in A)

(C) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s as( fewer than is correct)

(D) fewer people will be entering the labor force in the 1980’s as( same as in C)

(E) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than( Correct)

Will go with choice E.

Thanks

GKomoku · Answer

As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate,  less people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than  did in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a twenty year period during which people born after the war swelled the ranks of workers.

Main comparison among  people  who will enter the labor force in  1980's ,  1960's and 1970's .
Underlined portions starts with  "less"   people  - we know that - people - countable noun, hence need  "fewer" . Eliminate (A) and (B).
Also we need correct constraction for comparison  "fewer...than" , so eliminate (C) and (D).
If we delve little bit deeper,  "will be entering"  in (B) and (D) - future continious tense - we need some point of time in the future to refer, so is incorrect.

(A)  less people  will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than

(B)  less people   will be entering  the labor force in the 1980’s  as

(C) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s  as

(D) fewer people  will be entering  the labor force in the 1980’s  as

(E) fewer people will enter the labor force in the 1980’s than
 
  E   is the answer

nick0203 · Answer

Since people are "countable", fewer is the correct usage. A, B eliminated.
Use of "as" is incorrect because we are comparing. C, D also eliminated. 
E is correct, "than" is required.

thangvietnam · Answer

we do not need to discuss about comparison to get OA for this problem. but, we can discuss comparison for other questions.

some special comparion sentence require zero subject in the second clause of comparison. look at choice e.
we can not add subjects for "than did...." . specifically, we can not add "number of persons," or, "persons" or "they", because all of these subjects will make wrong comparison. so this special pattern requires zero subject. 
I give you another question from gmatprep.
According to a 1996 survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, more than three times as many independent institutions of higher education charge tuition and fees of under $8,000 a year than those that charge over $16,000.

(A) than those that charge
(B) than are charging
(C) than to charge
(D) as charge
(E) as those charging

this special pattern is the way for gmat to trick us. but no longer can it do so if we are informed

palaktripathi · Answer

The word 'less' can only be used for countable nouns. This leaves us with only choices C, D, and E. 
The usage of 'as' for comparison between two things is grammatically incorrect. 
This leaves us with choice E, and that is the correct answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate, less people

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As a result of the continuing decline in the birth rate, less people

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards