EDU10003 The World of Maths

The number of people unemployed at the time of the 1996 Census in Tasmania is given in the table below.

       Age group        Number unemployed

          15-19                               3 688

            20-24                             4 031

            25-34                             5 432

            35-44                             4 360

            45-54                              3 162

           55-64                               1 702

Create an appropriate Excel (or other software) spreadsheet and use it to calculate the:

1. average (mean) age of an unemployed person in Tasmania, and
2. age group in which the median lies.The mean and median are both measures of central tendency.  Politicians are careful to quote the one that appears more favorable to his/her position and can be used to manipulate and sway the public.
3. Which measure of central tendency would a politician quote if they wanted to not highlight the level of youth unemployment Justify your response.
4. Why do you think the number of unemployed decreases after the age group 25-34
5. Someone complains that the statistics quoted (i.e. the mean and median) are not a true reflection of the data.  On what grounds would they claim this and are they correct.

You will be provided with an Excel spreadsheet (hereafter referred to as the ‘SS’) called: “Industry Employment numbers by sex - 2001 to 2011”.

This is a data set downloaded from the “ABS – Australian Bureau of Statistic” and gives the numbers of people employed in various industries in the years 2001, 2006 and 2011.  The data is also given for males and females separately.  The data is presented for Queensland and the whole of Australia.

Being sure to keep the original copy of the SS with its original name (as a fail-safe), you are then to make a new copy of the spreadsheet but name it:  “IndEmploy SS – {name}”.  For example, if your name was ‘Chris Rogers’ then you would name your new SS:  “IndEmploy SS – ChrisR”.  You are to use this spreadsheet to respond to the following.  When you submit your completed assignment you must email a copy of your (presumably modified) spreadsheet to your teacher.

1. The graph below was created from similar data to your SS based on the 1996 census.  You are to create a similar graph based on the 2011 data in your SS.  You are to label the industries with the codes given (i.e. A, B, C, etc.) in the SS.  You are to do this for the ‘Australia’ data set only.
2. List those industries that have significantlymore males than females and vice-versa and state your findings. Include how you have defined the word “significant”.
3. You will be given three industries (e.g. B, G and I).  Using these three industries only, you are to determine if there is any trend in the proportion of people who participate in these industries from 2001 to 2011.

• You are to do this for ‘males’ alone, ‘females’ alone and then ‘males and females’ combined.  
• You are to do this using the ‘Australia’ data and the ‘Queensland’ data and compare the results.
• You should aim to present at least six (6) observations from your analysis ensuring that there is comparison and not just statements of fact.