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teenagers doomed!

Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension
Expert replies
by ashish1354 » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:30 pm
Teenagers are often priced out of the labor market by the government-mandated minimum-wage level because employers cannot afford to pay that much for extra help. Therefore, if Congress institutes a subminimum wage, a new lower legal wage for teenagers, the teenage unemployment rate, which has been rising since 1960, will no longer increase.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?
(A) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen when the minimum wage has risen.
(B) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen even when the minimum wage remained constant.
(C) Employers often hire extra help during holiday and warm weather seasons.
(D) The teenage unemployment rate rose more quickly in the 1970's than it did in the 1960's.
(E) The teenage unemployment rate has occasionally declined in the years since 1960.

OA after some replies
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Source: — Verbal Reasoning |

by punitkaur » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:18 am
IMO C?
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by artistocrat » Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:47 am
The answer is B.
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by kiennguyen » Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:41 am
IMO A
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i got stuck!

by kiennguyen » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:21 am
anybody please specifies your answers! OA plese!
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Good Question

by nakul_anand » Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:23 pm
I think the right answer is (B)
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by mridula » Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:53 am
ashish1354 wrote:Teenagers are often priced out of the labor market by the government-mandated minimum-wage level because employers cannot afford to pay that much for extra help. Therefore, if Congress institutes a subminimum wage, a new lower legal wage for teenagers, the teenage unemployment rate, which has been rising since 1960, will no longer increase.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?
(A) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen when the minimum wage has risen.
(B) Since 1960 the teenage unemployment rate has risen even when the minimum wage remained constant.
(C) Employers often hire extra help during holiday and warm weather seasons.
(D) The teenage unemployment rate rose more quickly in the 1970's than it did in the 1960's.
(E) The teenage unemployment rate has occasionally declined in the years since 1960.

OA after some replies
Answer should be A.
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by gmatmachoman » Tue Jan 19, 2010 3:04 am
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by bhartiindia » Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:24 pm
IMO A bt why not E??
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by komal » Tue Jan 26, 2010 5:44 am
3)Author states teenage unemployment rate will cease to rise if minimum wage is lowered. To weaken this we have to prove minimum wage has no effect on unemployment rate.
A.Supports the argument.
B. correct if unemployment rate keeps on rising when minimum wage is constant then this weakens the conclusion
C.Irrelevant
D.Irrelevant
E. this happens only once in a while and has no impact on the conclusion
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by Vipulvp » Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:35 am
komal wrote:3)Author states teenage unemployment rate will cease to rise if minimum wage is lowered. To weaken this we have to prove minimum wage has no effect on unemployment rate.
A.Supports the argument.
B. correct if unemployment rate keeps on rising when minimum wage is constant then this weakens the conclusion
C.Irrelevant
D.Irrelevant
E. this happens only once in a while and has no impact on the conclusion
I am still not convinced. The argument talks about sub-minimum wages and not the minimum wages. What the author probably meant was that employers are not willing to pay the amount they normally pay to adult to teenagers. So the minimum wages (as opposed to the sub-minimum wages) are actually irrelevant. Another way of weakening could be: Employers find it more profitable to ask some of their existing employees to finish off the extra work in return for handsome overtime than to employ teenagers at the new sub-minimum rates.
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