How_Money_Works_-_The_Facts_Visually_Explained

(Greg DeLong) #1

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GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND PUBLIC MONEY

Attempting control

How it works
The main indicators governments use to monitor
the economy are based on surveys of individuals,
businesses, and government departments. A national
statistics agency is usually charged with running the
survey, and then calculating the figures. The agency
will look at the economy, business, industry and trade,

the employment and labour markets, and society in
general. The “headline indicators” generally relate
to parts of the economy that have the most impact
on people’s daily lives, and might include assessments
of the likelihood that individuals will find employment,
whether their pay will go up or down, and whether
businesses will be able to expand.

W
ages

U


n


em


ployme
n
t

the year the US Bureau of Labor


1884 Statistics was formed to analyse data


This is the
proportion of
those who could
work and who
want to work, but
are not currently
employed. It is
measured as a
percentage and
varies widely
from country
to country.

Data on
wages are
usually shown
as a growth
figure. As prices
rise due to inflation,
wages must rise
even faster in order
to ensure living
standards are
continually
improving.

116-117_Reading_Economic_Indicators.indd 117 13/10/2016 15:36

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