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Hypothesis 1 (Employment & Economic Growth)

  • Hypothesis 1: “An increase in nonfarm payroll employment (PAYEMS) is associated with a decrease in the unemployment rate (LNU02300000) over time.”
  • Rationale: Nonfarm payroll employment is a broad measure of employment in the U.S. If more people are employed, it’s likely that unemployment rates will decrease.

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FREDtools

The dual-axis line chart successfully compares the Nonfarm Employment Ratio (PAYEMS ratio) with the Employment-Population Ratio (LNU02300000). Here’s what you can observe:

  • Nonfarm Employment Ratio (cyan line): This represents the ratio of total nonfarm employment to the population over time. You can see that it has generally increased, reflecting the growing employment relative to the population, though there are noticeable drops during economic downturns, such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Employment-Population Ratio (magenta line): This ratio represents the portion of the population that is employed. It also fluctuates with economic conditions, showing sharp declines during recessions, particularly the recent one caused by COVID-19.

 

Observations:

  • The two ratios tend to move in a similar direction, but there are periods where they diverge slightly, particularly during economic recessions. This divergence might be due to structural changes in the economy or labor market conditions that affect the ratios differently.
  • The steep drops in the Employment-Population Ratio during recessions are more pronounced compared to the Nonfarm Employment Ratio, likely because the former is directly sensitive to overall employment levels across all sectors, not just nonfarm employment.

 

This plot provides a useful visual representation of how these two metrics have evolved over time, and it can be helpful for analyzing the impact of economic policies and external shocks on employment and labor market participation.

Interpretation:

  • The scatter plot points (in cyan) represent the actual data, while the magenta line represents the predicted relationship according to the linear regression model.
  • The positive slope of the magenta line reinforces the idea that as the Nonfarm Employment Ratio increases, the Employment-Population Ratio also tends to increase.
  • Conclusion: This visual and statistical analysis strongly supports the hypothesis that an increase in nonfarm payroll employment (when adjusted for population) is associated with an increase in the employment-population ratio. The correlation is strong, and the regression results show that the relationship is statistically significant.

The Pearson correlation coefficient between the Nonfarm Employment Ratio and the Employment-Population Ratio is approximately 0.82. This indicates a strong positive correlation between these two variables.

Given this strong correlation, it suggests that as the Nonfarm Employment Ratio increases, the Employment-Population Ratio tends to increase as well, and vice versa.

Key Takeaways: R-squared Value: The R-squared value is 0.677, meaning that approximately 67.7% of the variance in the Employment-Population Ratio can be explained by the Nonfarm Employment Ratio. This suggests a strong relationship between the two variables.

P-value for Nonfarm Employment: The P-value associated with the PAYEMS_ratio coefficient is 0.000, which is much less than 0.05. This indicates that the relationship between the Nonfarm Employment Ratio and the Employment-Population Ratio is statistically significant.

Coefficient: The coefficient for PAYEMS_ratio is 0.4300, meaning that for every unit increase in the Nonfarm Employment Ratio, the Employment-Population Ratio increases by approximately 0.43, holding other factors constant.

Intercept: The intercept value of 42.3039 suggests that when the Nonfarm Employment Ratio is zero, the Employment-Population Ratio would be around 42.3%. However, in a real-world context, a Nonfarm Employment Ratio of zero isn’t feasible, so the intercept is more of a mathematical artifact in this scenario.

Project Brief

This project involves a comprehensive economic analysis using data from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database. The study focuses on identifying and testing various economic hypotheses related to employment, GDP, inflation, and other key economic indicators. By leveraging historical data, the project aims to uncover patterns and relationships that can inform future economic predictions.

One of the core hypotheses explored in this study, Hypothesis 1, investigates the relationship between nonfarm payroll employment (PAYEMS) and the unemployment rate over time. The analysis considers how employment trends impact overall economic health, particularly during recession and recovery periods.

Project Info

Client : N/A (Personal Project)

Date : August 2024

Category : Economic/Financial