1. Visit the Conference Boards site at http://www.conference-board.org/economics/ConsumerConfidence.cfm and report on their outlook for the labor market.

The outlook for the labor market was also less favorable. Those expecting more jobs to become available in the coming months decreased to 14.0 percent in July. Those expecting fewer jobs increased to 18.3 percent from 16.5 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating their incomes to increase in the months ahead declined to 17.7 percent from 18. 3 percent.

2. Aside from consumption, identify and discuss the other main components of GDP?

Consumption includes most personal expenditures of households such as food, rent, medical expenses and so on. The other three components of GDP are investment spending, government spending, and net exports. Investment spending is defined as business investments in capital. Examples of investment by a business include construction of a new mine, purchase of software, or purchase of machinery and equipment for a factory. Government spending is the sum of government expenditures on final goods and services. It includes salaries of public servants, purchase of weapons for the military, and any investment expenditure by a government. It does not include any transfer payments, such as social security or unemployment benefits. Net exports are exports minus imports. GDP is constructed to capture the amount a country produces, including goods and services produced for overseas consumption, therefore exports are added. Imports are subtracted since imported goods will be included in the terms G, I, or C, and must be deducted to avoid counting foreign supply as domestic.

Multiple Choice/True False Questions