Critical Reasoning

Politician: Fewer people are entering the labor market
now than previously. If the economy grows, the
demand for motivated and educated people will far
outstrip the supply. Some companies have already
started to respond to this labor-market situation by
finding better ways to keep their current employees.
Their concern is a sure indicator that the economy is
growing.
Which of the following is the best criticism of the
politician's reasoning?
(A) The fact that companies are making prudent
preparations for a possible future development
does not mean that this development is already
taking place.
(B) The fact that some companies now try harder to
keep their employees does not mean that they
used to be indifferent to employee morale.
(C) The fact that demand will outstrip supply does
not mean that there will be no supply at all.
(D) The fact that the number of new entrants into the
labor market is declining does not mean that the
number of new entrants is lower than it has ever
been.
(E) The fact that current employees have become
more valuable to some companies does not mean
that those employees will do their jobs better than
they used to.

answer is a

Let's take this piece by piece.

The key components of the argument are the following:

(1) If the economy grows, the demand for motivated and educated people will far outstrip the supply. ( A --> B)

(2) Some companies have already started to respond to this labor-market situation by finding better ways to keep their current employees. ( C )

(3) Their concern is a sure indicator that the economy is growing. ( Therefore: A)

From (2) to (3) there is an implicit premise that amounts to C --> A. So, a criticism could target this implicit assumption: If companies are worried about the effects of a growing economy, that must mean the economy is growing.

An analogous claim would be: Will grabbed an umbrella this morning before leaving for work, so it must be raining. Just because I prepare for bad weather doesn't mean that it is already occurring.

So, A is the best response.

Will Langley
Senior GMAT Instructor
The Economist GMAT
https://econgm.at/gmatprep

Wow.. it was a great explanation Will. Thank you so much. I also want to know what are these problems categorized as in Critical Reasoning Section and is there a standard way to solve such problems?

Thank you once again Will.

Pj

I am very happy to hear that you found the explanation helpful.

This would fall into the Weakener category of Critical Reasoning items. You are looking for the statement that, if true, would undermine the original argument most.

One good general strategy is to think of an assumption on which the argument depends and then negate it. If you can match that up with an answer choice, you've got it.