The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that a more accurate method exists to produce estimates of unemployed entrants into the labor force than the one currently used. Unemployed entrants are an important component in the estimation methodology for unemployment estimates and the unemployment rate at sub-state levels. The current methodology in use to estimate entrants dates back to the early 1980’s and does not accurately reflect labor market trends.
Accuracy of the unemployment statistics is important at sub-state levels because they are one of the few economic indicators available for counties and cities. The Federal government uses these unemployment statistics to allocate funding for various entitlements and assistance programs. In fiscal year 2001, over $25 billion in federal funds were distributed based on these estimates.
Over the past two decades, many OECD countries have sought to promote productivity and long term growth by improving the efficiency of goods and services markets through liberalization and privatization. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that these processes have indeed boosted productivity performances in the sectors concerned, but less is known about their consequences on employment. A few recent theoretical and empirical studies suggest that product market deregulation may also stimulate aggregate employment, yet robust conclusions are still lacking.
Mercury occurs naturally in the earth’s crust, is ubiquitous in the environment, and is a component of freshwater and marine fish and mammals. Human industrial activities such as coal burning contribute to the global distribution of mercury in the environment. Global mercury emissions have increased since the 1700s. Currently, known man-made emissions of mercury roughly equal known natural emissions. Mercury has many chemical forms that occur naturally in the environment. From a public health standpoint, methyl mercury is the most important.
Alaskans are exposed to methylmercury primarily from ingestion of fish and marine mammals. Methylmercury concentrations in the most frequently consumed fish (e.g., salmon, cod, halibut, pollock, sole, and herring) are very low, consistently below 0.2 ?g/g [parts per million, ppm, wet weight (all tissue concentrations are wet weight unless noted otherwise)]. This is one-fifth of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action level for commercial sale of seafood of 1 ppm. Alaska salmon average 0.05 ppm of methylmercury. Similarly for marine mammals, except for some beluga whale tissues, average methylmercury concentrations are below 0.2 ppm. Bowhead whale tissues (e.g., muscle, blubber, epidermis, liver and kidney) contain very low methylmercury concentrations (<0.02 ppm). Older fish and marine mammals that are higher on the food chain have higher concentrations of methylmercury.
