An employment agency specializing in temporary construction pays heavy equipment operators $ 135 per day and general laborers $ 89 per day. if thirty-three people were hired and the payroll was $ 3949 how many heavy equipment operators were employed? how many laborers? the number of heavy equipment operators hired was the number of general laborers hired was

Number of heavy equipment operators hired were 22
Number of general laborers hired were 11

Explanation:
Assume that number of heavy equipment operators hired is x and that number of general laborers is y.

We are given that:
1- Total number of hired people is 33. This means that:
x + y = 33
This can be rewritten as:
x = 33 - y > equation I
2- heavy equipment operators are paid $135, general laborers are paid $89 and that the total payment was $3949. This means that:
135x + 89y = 3949 > equation II

Substitute with equation I in equation II and solve for y as follows:
135x + 89y = 3949
135(33-y) + 89y = 3949
4455 - 135y + 89y = 3949
506 = 46y
y = 506 / 46
y = 11

Substitute with y in equation I to get the value of x as follows:
x = 33 - y
x = 33 - 11
x = 22

Hope this helps :)

The answer is:
 Number of heavy equipment operators = 22
 Number of general laborers = 11
 The question can be solved by proposing a system of equations, where:
 Ep= number of heavy equipment operators.
 Tg= number of general labored.
 We have two equations, the first is the cost of hiring heavy equipment operators and general workers.
 
 135Ep+89Tg=3949.
 
 
  The second is the number of operators of heavy equipment and general workers that will be contracted. The total is 33.

 Ep+Tg=33.

 Solving the system of equations we have the answer is:

 Ep=22.
 Tg=11.

Could you make it more clear?