Labor Force Participation - Labor Force Participation

Participation in the labor force means that a person is either employed or actively seeking employment. Those who are not looking for work because they are "going to school" or "unable to work" are not considered part of the labor force. The labor force increases with long-term growth of the population. It responds to economic forces and social trends, and its size changes with the seasons.

African-Americans

Historically, African-American workers have participated in the labor force in larger proportion than whites, primarily because African-American women were more likely to be working than their white counterparts. The increased entry of white women into the labor force since the 1960s, however,

TABLE 3.1
Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin, 2002–03
(Numbers in thousands)

	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted1
Employment status, race, sex, and age	Dec. 2002	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003	Dec. 2002	Aug. 2003	Sept. 2003	Oct. 2003	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003
White2
Civilian noninstitutional population	180,580	182,032	182,185	180,580	181,512	181,696	181,871	182,032	182,185
Civilian labor force	119,779	120,865	120,453	120,072	120,658	120,411	120,736	121,041	120,751
Participation rate	66.3	66.4	66.1	66.5	66.5	66.3	66.4	66.5	66.3
Employed	113,916	114,935	114,702	113,876	114,156	114,015	114,535	114,783	114,678
Employment-population ratio	63.1	63.1	63.0	63.1	62.9	62.8	63.0	63.1	62.9
Unemployed	5,864	5,930	5,751	6,195	6,502	6,397	6,200	6,258	6,073
Unemployment rate	4.9	4.9	4.8	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.0
Not in labor force	60,801	61,167	61,732	60,509	60,854	61,285	61,135	60,991	61,434
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	62,007	62,873	62,656	62,095	62,543	62,552	62,694	62,913	62,752
Participation rate	76.2	76.5	76.1	76.3	76.3	76.2	76.3	76.5	76.2
Employed	58,914	59,885	59,680	59,016	59,233	59,414	59,623	59,777	59,794
Employment-population ratio	72.4	72.8	72.5	72.5	72.3	72.4	72.6	72.7	72.6
Unemployed	3,093	2,988	2,975	3,079	3,310	3,139	3,072	3,136	2,957
Unemployment rate	5.0	4.8	4.7	5.0	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.0	4.7
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	51,814	52,260	52,227	51,776	52,156	51,942	52,183	52,210	52,199
Participation rate	59.8	59.9	59.8	59.8	59.9	59.6	59.9	59.9	59.8
Employed	49,790	50,132	50,186	49,530	49,866	49,580	49,892	49,932	49,941
Employment-population ratio	57.5	57.5	57.5	57.2	57.3	56.9	57.2	57.2	57.2
Unemployed	2,024	2,128	2,040	2,246	2,290	2,362	2,291	2,279	2,258
Unemployment rate	3.9	4.1	3.9	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	5,959	5,732	5,571	6,200	5,959	5,917	5,858	5,918	5,800
Participation rate	47.3	45.6	44.3	49.2	47.5	47.2	46.7	47.1	46.1
Employed	5,212	4,917	4,835	5,330	5,057	5,020	5,020	5,074	4,942
Employment-population ratio	41.4	39.1	38.4	42.3	40.3	40.0	40.0	40.4	39.3
Unemployed	747	815	736	870	903	896	838	843	857
Unemployment rate	12.5	14.2	13.2	14.0	15.1	15.1	14.3	14.3	14.8
Black or African American2
Civilian noninstitutional population	25,784	25,860	25,894	25,784	25,742	25,784	25,825	25,860	25,894
Civilian labor force	16,736	16,602	16,422	16,701	16,585	16,677	16,589	16,524	16,365
Participation rate	64.9	64.2	63.4	64.8	64.4	64.7	64.2	63.9	63.2
Employed	14,951	14,931	14,828	14,799	14,771	14,826	14,696	14,812	14,679
Employment-population ratio	58.0	57.7	57.3	57.4	57.4	57.5	56.9	57.3	56.7
Unemployed	1,785	1,671	1,594	1,902	1,813	1,851	1,893	1,712	1,686
Unemployment rate	10.7	10.1	9.7	11.4	10.9	11.1	11.4	10.4	10.3
Not in labor force	9,048	9,259	9,472	9,082	9,157	9,107	9,236	9,336	9,529
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	7,338	7,455	7,422	7,300	7,362	7,433	7,385	7,414	7,382
Participation rate	71.3	72.0	71.6	70.9	71.5	72.0	71.4	71.6	71.2
Employed	6,550	6,723	6,718	6,529	6,585	6,619	6,611	6,668	6,695
Employment-population ratio	63.6	64.9	64.8	63.4	63.9	64.1	63.9	64.4	64.6
Unemployed	788	731	704	771	776	814	774	746	687
Unemployment rate	10.7	9.8	9.5	10.6	10.5	11.0	10.5	10.1	9.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	8,573	8,450	8,325	8,528	8,494	8,436	8,425	8,401	8,276
Participation rate	65.6	64.5	63.4	65.3	65.1	64.5	64.4	64.1	63.1
Employed	7,826	7,701	7,595	7,698	7,674	7,664	7,596	7,639	7,471
Employment-population ratio	59.9	58.8	57.9	58.9	58.8	58.6	58.0	58.3	56.9
Unemployed	747	749	730	831	820	772	829	762	805
Unemployment rate	8.7	8.9	8.8	9.7	9.7	9.2	9.8	9.1	9.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	826	697	675	873	729	808	779	710	707
Participation rate	34.0	29.1	28.1	36.0	30.5	33.8	32.5	29.6	29.4
Employed	575	507	514	572	512	543	489	505	514
Employment-population ratio	23.7	21.1	21.4	23.6	21.4	22.7	20.4	21.0	21.4
Unemployed	250	190	161	301	217	264	290	205	193
Unemployment rate	30.3	27.2	23.8	34.4	29.8	32.7	37.3	28.9	27.3

has narrowed the gap between the two races. In 1960 white women had 36.5 percent participation, compared to 48.2 percent participation among African-American and other minority women. According to the Department of Labor, by December 2003, 59.8 percent of all white women over age twenty were in the civilian labor force, which was still somewhat less than the 63.1 percent participation of African-American women over age twenty. (See Table 3.1.)

TABLE 3.1
Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin, 2002–03
(Numbers in thousands)

	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted1
Employment status, race, sex, and age	Dec. 2002	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003	Dec. 2002	Aug. 2003	Sept. 2003	Oct. 2003	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003
Asian2
Civilian noninstutional population	9,980	9,354	9,372	3	3	3	3	3	3
Civilian labor force	6,720	6,109	6,272	3	3	3	3	3	3
Participation rate	67.3	65.3	66.9	3	3	3	3	3	3
Employed	6,322	5,789	5,938	3	3	3	3	3	3
Employment-population ratio	63.3	61.9	63.4	3	3	3	3	3	3
Unemployed	398	320	334	3	3	3	3	3	3
Unemployment rate	5.9	5.2	5.3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Not in labor force	3,260	3,245	3,101	3	3	3	3	3	3
1The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.
2Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race were included in the group they identified as the main race.
3Data not available.
SOURCE: "Table A-2. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Race, Sex, Age, and Hispanic Origin," in News Release, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC, January 9, 2004

TABLE 3.2
Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age, selected months, 2002–03
(Numbers in thousands)

	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted1
Employment status, race, sex, and age	Dec. 2002	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003	Dec. 2002	Aug. 2003	Sept. 2003	Oct. 2003	Nov. 2003	Dec. 2003
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population	26,436	28,016	28,116	26,436	27,701	27,808	27,913	28,016	28,116
Civilian labor force	18,148	19,057	19,031	18,150	18,843	18,877	18,940	19,125	19,035
Participation rate	68.6	68.0	67.7	68.7	68.0	67.9	67.9	68.3	67.7
Employed	16,713	17,666	17,785	16,704	17,383	17,456	17,556	17,709	17,784
Employment-population ratio	63.2	63.1	63.3	63.2	62.8	62.8	62.9	63.2	63.3
Unemployed	1,435	1,391	1,246	1,446	1,460	1,421	1,383	1,416	1,250
Unemployment rate	7.9	7.3	6.5	8.0	7.8	7.5	7.3	7.4	6.6
1The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.
2Data not available.
SOURCE: "Table A-3. Employment Status of the Hispanic or Latino Population by Sex and Age," in News Release, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC, October 2003

Conversely, the labor force participation rate of African-American men twenty years and older has declined since the 1950s. In 1948, 87 percent of all African-American males twenty years and older were employed or actively looking for work. By 1970 that share had fallen to 76.5 percent, and by December 2003 it had dropped to 71.2 percent. In comparison, 76.2 percent of all white males twenty years and older were in the civilian labor force in December 2003. The overall participation rate for all African-Americans (male and female) was 63.2 percent in December 2003, compared with 66.3 percent among all whites. (See Table 3.1.)

Hispanic Americans

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began maintaining annual employment data on Hispanics in 1973. In December 2003 overall, 67.7 percent of Hispanics participated in the labor force. (See Table 3.2.) As of 2002, Mexican Americans had the highest overall participation (70.3 percent), followed by Puerto Ricans (62.2 percent) and Cuban Americans (55.6 percent). (See Table 3.3.)

As of 2002, in a survey of civilians twenty-five years and older, a higher proportion of Hispanic Americans participated in the labor force than African-Americans and whites. Approximately 71 percent of Hispanics participated in the labor force, compared with 67.6 percent of African-Americans and 67 percent of whites. (See Table 3.4.)

Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders

In March 2002, 66.9 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) age sixteen and over were in the civilian labor force. (See Table 3.5.) The percentage of API women in the civilian labor force was 59.3 percent in

TABLE 3.3
Employment status of the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban-origin population by sex and age, 2001–02
(Numbers in thousands)

	Total Hispanic origin1		Mexican origin		Puerto Rican origin		Cuban origin
Employment status, sex, and age	2001	2002	2001	2002	2001	2002	2001	2002
Total
Civilian noninstitutional population	24,942	25,963	15,909	16,420	2,367	2,484	1,118	1,141
Civilian labor force	17,328	17,943	11,218	11,542	1,454	1,546	671	635
Percent of population	69.5	69.1	70.5	70.3	61.4	62.2	60.0	55.6
Employed	16,190	16,590	10,471	10,673	1,341	1,401	628	592
Agriculture	715	779	609	685	14	15	14	4
Nonagricultural industries	15,475	15,811	9,862	9,988	1,327	1,385	614	588
Unemployed	1,138	1,353	747	869	114	145	44	43
Unemployment rate	6.6	7.5	6.7	7.5	7.8	9.4	6.5	6.7
Not in labor force	7,614	8,020	4,691	4,878	913	938	447	507
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	12,695	13,221	8,338	8,611	1,059	1,146	568	572
Civilian labor force	10,279	10,609	6,933	7,089	729	815	394	361
Percent of population	81.0	80.2	83.1	82.3	68.9	71.1	69.4	63.1
Employed	9,668	9,845	6,522	6,588	672	738	369	337
Agriculture	618	675	529	595	12	13	11	4
Nonagricultural industries	9,050	9,170	5,993	5,993	660	726	358	334
Unemployed	611	764	410	501	57	77	26	23
Unemployment rate	5.9	7.2	5.9	7.1	7.8	9.4	6.5	6.5
Not in labor force	2,416	2,613	1,405	1,522	330	331	174	211
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	11,386	11,928	7,436	7,742	955	1,032	536	542
Civilian labor force	9,595	9,977	6,436	6,645	686	767	380	352
Percent of population	84.3	83.6	86.6	85.8	71.9	74.4	70.8	64.9
Employed	9,100	9,341	6,110	6,228	641	705	357	330
Agriculture	585	642	499	564	12	12	11	4
Nonagricultural industries	8,516	8,699	5,611	5,664	629	693	347	327
Unemployed	495	636	326	417	46	62	22	21
Unemployment rate	5.2	6.4	5.1	6.3	6.6	8.1	5.9	6.1
Not in labor force	1,791	1,951	1,000	1,098	268	265	157	190

March 2002, compared with 59.9 percent of white non-Hispanic women in the civilian labor force. Approximately 75.1 percent of API men were in the labor force in March 2002, compared with 73.4 percent of non-Hispanic white men.

Older APIs tend to work longer because of the strong work ethic in Asian cultures and frequently because of economic need. Often they are employed in family businesses that do not offer early retirement packages. Depending on the time of their immigration and their work history, APIs age sixty-five and older may not be entitled to adequate Social Security benefits. Also, some may have immigrated under circumstances that prevented them from retaining any wealth they might have accumulated in their native lands.

Native Americans/Alaska Natives

Gathering accurate statistical data on the labor force participation rates of Native Americans/Alaska Natives is very difficult. They are often counted as "other" in Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data, making specific information hard to obtain. About 22 percent of Native Americans live on reservations and trust lands. In 1990 labor force participation varied among the different reservations from a high of 86.2 percent for the Zuni Pueblo of Arizona and New Mexico, to a low of 64.7 percent at Fort Apache, Arizona.