To determine the number of employed people, we need to subtract the number of unemployed people from the total number of labor force participants. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the solution:
1. We start with the total number of labor force participants, which is 146.8 million people.
2. Next, we know that the number of unemployed people is 8.2 million people.
3. To find the number of employed people, we perform the subtraction:
[tex]\[ \text{Number of employed people} = \text{Total labor force participants} - \text{Number of unemployed people} \][/tex]
4. Substituting in the given values:
[tex]\[ \text{Number of employed people} = 146.8 \, \text{million} - 8.2 \, \text{million} \][/tex]
5. Performing the subtraction:
[tex]\[ 146.8 - 8.2 = 138.6 \][/tex]
So, the number of employed people is [tex]\( 138.6 \)[/tex] million.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
O a. 138.6 million