Temporary-services firms supply trained workers to other companies on ...
Argument:
Temporary-services firms lose business when the economy shows signs of beginning to weaken.
Temporary-services firms gain business when the economy begins to recover.
These firms have begun to gain business in the present weak economy.
Therefore, the economy must be beginning to recover.
Assumption:
B) Temporary-services firms do not gain business when an already weak economy worsens.
Explanation:
To determine whether the conclusion logically follows from the premises, we need to identify the assumption on which the argument depends. In this case, the assumption is that temporary-services firms do not gain business when an already weak economy worsens.
If we negate this assumption and consider the possibility that temporary-services firms can still gain business when the economy worsens, it weakens the argument's conclusion. The increase in business during the weak economy could be due to the worsening economic conditions rather than the beginning of a recovery.
Therefore, to maintain the logical link between the premises and the conclusion, we need to assume that temporary-services firms do not gain business when an already weak economy worsens. This assumption ensures that the increase in business during the weak economy is more likely to be a result of the economy beginning to recover, supporting the argument's conclusion.
Thus, option B is the correct assumption for this argument.