Arrange the following steps in the correct order for a firm to determine the optimal number of employees to hire in a perfectly competitive labor market.

To determine the optimal number of employees to hire in a perfectly competitive labor market, a firm first needs to understand the concept of marginal product, which is the additional output produced by hiring one more worker. Next, the firm must evaluate the marginal cost of hiring that extra employee, which is essentially the wage paid to the worker. The firm then compares the marginal product of labor to the marginal cost: if the marginal product is greater than the marginal cost, it makes sense to hire more workers. For example, if hiring one more employee increases production significantly enough to cover their wage and generate profit, the firm should hire that employee. Ultimately, the firm continues this process until the marginal product is equal to the marginal cost, which indicates it has found the optimal number of employees to hire.