Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Demographic Characteristics (CPS)

This page contains information about national labor force statistics with demographic characteristics available from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Data on the labor force characteristics of employed and unemployed persons, plus hours of work and earnings, also are available.

Demographic labor force information for States, counties, and cities are available separately from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Contact LAUS staff for state or city data.

Age

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by age group. See also Older workers and Youth.

 

Certifications and licenses

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for persons with or without certifications and licenses—credentials that demonstrate a level of skill or knowledge needed to perform a specific type of job. These non-degree credentials are distinct from educational attainment. Questions to identify persons with professional certifications and licenses were added to the Current Population Survey (CPS) in January 2015.

 

Disability

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for persons with or without a disability. These are estimates for the nation as a whole; data are not available by state. (Questions to identify persons with a disability were added to the Current Population Survey (CPS) in June 2008.) See also Veterans with a service-connected disability.

 

Educational attainment

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by educational attainment for persons age 25 and older. (Learn how we define educational attainment.) See also Earnings by education, School enrollment and Certifications and licenses.

 

Families and marital status

See also Women, including additional tables on parents, families, and marital status in the annual report on Women in the Labor Force: A Databook.

Employment, unemployment, and labor force participation in families


Employment and unemployment statistics for married men and women


Unemployment statistics by marital status

 

Foreign-born workers

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by foreign- and native-born status (nativity). (Learn how we define foreign born and native born.)



Older workers

See also Age.
Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by single year of age for persons age 55 and older are available on request. Contact the Current Population Survey staff to obtain these data.

 

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for whites, blacks or African Americans, Asians, and persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. (Learn how we define race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.) See also Earnings by Demographics.

 

School enrollment

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for youth ages 16 to 24 by school enrollment status. See also Youth and Educational attainment.

 

Veterans

News releases

Current monthly data:

Employment Situation news release (Monthly), Table A-5
(PDF) (Charts) (Archives) (Schedule)

Annual average and supplemental survey data, including service-connected disability:

Employment Situation of Veterans 
(PDF) (Archives)

Frequently asked questions about data on veterans

Database

Retrieve historical data series

Veteran status by age and sex (including detail for Gulf War-era II veterans)
Veteran status by period of service and sex
What percentage of people in the labor force are veterans?

Seasonally adjusted data for veterans and nonveterans

Labor force Employment Unemployment Not in the labor force
Labor force levels Employment levels Unemployment levels Not in the labor force levels
Labor force participation rates Employment-population ratios Unemployment rates --

Not seasonally adjusted data for veterans and nonveterans by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Population Labor force Employment Unemployment Not in the labor force
Civilian noninstitutional population Labor force levels Employment levels Unemployment levels Not in the labor force levels
-- Labor force participation rates Employment-population ratios Unemployment rates --

Tables

Annual average table: Employment status of persons 18 years and over by veteran status, age, and sex (PDF) (XLSX)
Quarterly average table: Employment status of persons 18 years and over by veteran status, age, and sex (PDF)
Monthly data table: Employment status of persons 18 years and over by veteran status, age, and sex (PDF)

Charts 

Articles

  • Resilience through two recessions: veterans in the labor market since 2003 (June 2023) (HTML
  • Employment and earnings of recent veterans: data from the CPS (July 2010) (PDF)
  • BLS Deputy Commissioner's Statement on Veterans' Employment (April 2010) (PDF) (Slides, including charts)

Special notices and technical documentation

Beginning with data for January 2014, estimates for veterans incorporate updated weighting procedures that more accurately reflect the current demographic composition of the veteran population. The new weighting methodology had little effect on unemployment rates for veterans, regardless of gender or period of service. Learn more about the effect of the January 2014 weighting change on labor force estimates for veterans.

Effective with data for January 2023, estimates for veterans incorporate population controls derived from a new Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop2020). In accordance with usual practice, BLS did not revise estimates for previous years. See also Veteran Population Projection Model.

See also Revised Data from the August 1995 Vietnam Veterans Survey

 

Volunteering

These statistics reflect persons who volunteered through or for an organization. They come from a special supplemental survey last conducted in September 2015.

NOTICE 
The last volunteer supplement and associated BLS news release reflected data collected in September 2015.
The volunteer supplement was sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), now known as AmeriCorps.
Please direct inquiries about newer data to AmeriCorps Staff.

 

Women

Notice

The CPS content about women is moving to a new page dedicated to data about women. You can find this content on the Women in the Labor Force page. Please update your bookmarks and other links to this new page.

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for women. See also Families and marital status and Earnings by demographics.

 

Youth

Labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics for youth ages 16 to 24. See also Age and School Enrollment.

 

Last Modified Date: September 13, 2024