Table:
tercile

lower
middle
upper

number

economic regions
23
23
23

thousands

average number of employees aged 18 to 64
360
171
59

percent

layoff rate
4.7
6.8
12.6

hiring rate
19.9
21.1
23.8

percentage of employees

with 24 months of tenure or less
32.9
32.1
33.9

aged 18 to 34 years
38.7
37.5
33.9

aged 50 to 64 years
24.2
25.0
27.2

in agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting
1.7
1.8
3.4

in accommodation and food services
5.9
6.1
6.6

in construction
5.5
6.2
6.1

in manufacturing
12.1
12.4
11.7

in small firms
19.7
20.4
24.5

in large firms
49.0
48.6
44.2

in full-time jobs
84.4
84.6
84.7

in temporary jobs
11.1
12.3
18.0

in term or contract jobs
5.7
6.0
7.0

in seasonal jobs
2.6
3.3
6.8

2014 dollars

earnings and employment insurance benefits of employees

average annual wages per job held by employees
31,773
29,931
26,023

average annual wages per employee
45,260
43,064
37,602

average employment insurance income received by employees
790
1,117
2,167

Statement: ers in the upper-third of the layoff rate distribution were less populous than those in the bottom third.
Question: which group of the layoff rate distribution was less populous? the bottom third or upper third group?
Answer: upper