Statistical and Graphical Example

Example 5: Ok, now some local news too!

 

The graphic below shows a trend graph of unemployment rates and per-county population growth in Erath county, Texas and surrounding counties. An unemployment rate is basically computed by long division: Divide those seeking work by the total eligible working population pool. This information is determined via questionnaire. It can be inexact due to hidden unemployment or because some simply give incorrect answers. For the most part though it's pretty accurate.

• We see that Erath County unemployment rates since 2010 have been consistently lower than Texas as a whole

• Texas has consistently had lower unemployment than the U.S.

• We also see that population growth from the 1990 through 2010 has been highest for Erath County relative to Bosque, Commanche, Eastland, and Hamilton.

The last part of the graphic shows a time plot of percentage changes in real state Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in the U.S. Note the large negative spike in the first quarter of 2009. This reflects the fact that the U.S. was just starting to come out of what's called the "Great Recession." It deserves this moniker since the 2007-2009 economic downturn was the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

 

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