Employment: Labor Force Status (1983-2012)

Civilian labor force data consists of the number of employed persons, the number of unemployed persons, an unemployment rate and the total count of both employed and unemployed persons (total civilian labor force). Labor force refers to an estimate of the number of persons, 16 years of age and older, classified as employed or unemployed. The civilian labor force, which is presented in these data tables, excludes the Armed Forces, i.e., the civilian labor force equals employed civilians plus the unemployed. Employed persons are those individuals, 16 years of age and older, who did any work at all during the survey week as paid employees, in their own business, profession or farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family operated business. Also counted as employed are those persons who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management dispute, or personal reasons. Individuals are counted only once even though they may hold more than one job. Unemployed persons comprise all persons who did not work during the survey week but who made specific efforts to find a job within the previous four weeks and were available for work during the survey week (except for temporary illness). Also included as unemployed are those who did not work at all, were available for work, but were not actively seeking work because they were either waiting to be called back to a job from which they were laid off or waiting to report to a new job within 30 days. The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed persons as a percent of the total civilian labor force.