A trades worker is considering a job offer in another city. Her current job pays \( \$ 2600 \) per month and is in a city with a cost of living index of 98.5 . The cost of living index in the new location is 128.8 . If she were to maintain her present lifestyle, how much would she need to earn per month in the new job? (Hint. Cost of living must be directly proportional to salary.) She would need to earn \( \$ \square \) per month in the new job. (Round to the nearest whole number as needed.)

To find out how much she would need to earn in the new job to maintain her current lifestyle, we can use the formula: \[ \text{New Salary} = \left( \frac{\text{New Cost of Living Index}}{\text{Current Cost of Living Index}} \right) \times \text{Current Salary} \] Substituting the values we have: \[ \text{New Salary} = \left( \frac{128.8}{98.5} \right) \times 2600 \] Calculating the fraction: \[ \frac{128.8}{98.5} \approx 1.306 \] Now, multiplying by the current salary: \[ \text{New Salary} \approx 1.306 \times 2600 \approx 3395.58 \] Rounding to the nearest whole number, she would need to earn approximately \( \$ 3396 \) per month in the new job to maintain her current lifestyle.