Last visit was: 20 Nov 2025, 01:12 It is currently 20 Nov 2025, 01:12
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
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
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
555-605 Level|   Assumption|      
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,408
Own Kudos:
778,424
 [1]
Given Kudos: 99,987
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,408
Kudos: 778,424
 [1]
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to 20 May 2025, 00:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

25% (medium)

Question Stats:

76% (01:14) correct 24% (01:31) wrong based on 234 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to take fewer and shorter vacations. When unemployment rates are low, people tend to vacation more often and go away for longer periods of time. Thus, it can be concluded that full-time workers’ perceptions of their own job security influence the frequency and duration of their vacations.

The argument above assumes that

(A) the people who take the longest vacations when unemployment rates are low have no fear of losing their jobs

(B) travel costs are lower during times of low unemployment

(C) most people prefer to work full-time jobs

(D) workers’ perceptions of their own job security are in some way related to the unemployment rate

(E) workers’ fears of losing their jobs have increased recently


­
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
User avatar
propinopia
User avatar
Joined: 26 Aug 2019
Last visit: 31 Oct 2025
Posts: 18
Own Kudos:
8
 [3]
Given Kudos: 17
Location: United States (CA)
Concentration: Strategy, Leadership
GPA: 9.38
Products:
My Reviews
Posts: 18
Kudos: 8
 [3]
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to 20 May 2025, 18:55
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
It is D, I had a confusion between A and D but A only talks about the time when the user is not scared of losing job, also uses the term "No fear" too extreme.

Whereas D is giving the general idea of how users associate their fear with losing a job as per market's unemployment rate trend.
User avatar
Deep1208
User avatar
Joined: 14 May 2019
Last visit: 04 Nov 2025
Posts: 11
Given Kudos: 20
Posts: 11
Kudos: 0
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to 21 May 2025, 00:34
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I broke down the question like.
When, low-unemployment-->longer breaks/vacation.
high-unemployment-->shorter breaks/vacation.

Conclusion:People are worried about there job-security,which is the gap in the statement.

So,for me 'D' is the correct choice.I would like to know the opinion of others.
Thank you!
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,408
Own Kudos:
778,424
Given Kudos: 99,987
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,408
Kudos: 778,424
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to 01 Jun 2025, 06:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
When unemployment rates are high, people with full-time jobs tend to take fewer and shorter vacations. When unemployment rates are low, people tend to vacation more often and go away for longer periods of time. Thus, it can be concluded that full-time workers’ perceptions of their own job security influence the frequency and duration of their vacations.

The argument above assumes that

(A) the people who take the longest vacations when unemployment rates are low have no fear of losing their jobs

(B) travel costs are lower during times of low unemployment

(C) most people prefer to work full-time jobs

(D) workers’ perceptions of their own job security are in some way related to the unemployment rate

(E) workers’ fears of losing their jobs have increased recently
Show more


Official Explanation:



Step 1: Identify the Question Type
The word “assumes” in the question stem is a clear indication of an Assumption question.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

“Thus” signals the argument’s conclusion. You could paraphrase it as follows: how much vacation time full-time workers take depends on how secure they feel in their jobs. The author’s evidence for this conclusion is the relationship between vacations and unemployment. When unemployment is high, workers take fewer and shorter vacations; when unemployment is low, the opposite happens.

Step 3: Predict the Answer

To find the central assumption, use Critical Thinking to link the terms in the evidence with the terms in the conclusion. If the evidence centers on employment levels and vacations, and if the conclusion centers on job security and vacations, then the central assumption must center on the connection between employment levels and job security.

Step 4: Evaluate the Choices

Choice (D) matches this prediction perfectly by bridging the terms of the evidence with the terms of the conclusion. The Denial Test can help confirm (D) as the correct answer; if there were no relationship between workers’ perceptions of job security and the unemployment rate, then it would no longer make sense for the author to use evidence about the unemployment rate to support a conclusion about workers’ perceptions of job security. (D) is an assumption necessary for the argument to hold.

The other choices are all incorrect in some definable way. It’s great practice to identify exactly why each wrong choice is wrong. Doing so will help you develop your Pattern Recognition skills so you can identify common wrong answer types on Test Day. (A) is too extreme (“no fear of losing their jobs”) to be the necessary assumption. (B) introduces the idea of travel costs, which are far outside the scope of the stimulus and have no necessary connection to job security in the conclusion. (C) similarly steps outside the scope; whether those people who work full-time jobs prefer to work them is irrelevant. (E) tells us that workers’ perceptions of their job security have deteriorated lately, but that has no necessary connection to the unemployment rate. Remember that the assumption must successfully link the evidence to the conclusion. The correct answer is (D).
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts