Work Experience Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, January 22, 2026                                 USDL-26-0102

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                         WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION -- 2024


There were 14.7 million people who experienced unemployment at some point during 2024, up by
978,000 from 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of the
civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over who worked at some time during the year
edged down to 63.9 percent in 2024. 

These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement
(ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey conducted by the
U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ASEC collects information on
employment and unemployment experienced during the prior calendar year. Additional information
about the CPS and the ASEC, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical
Note.

Highlights from the 2024 data:
 
--A total of 174.6 million people worked at some point during 2024, up by 2.6 million from
  the prior year. (See table 1.)

--The proportion of workers who worked full time, year-round (working 50 to 52 weeks) in 2024
  was 69.8 percent, little changed from the prior year. (See table 1.)

--The "work-experience unemployment rate"--defined as the number of people unemployed at some
  time during the year as a proportion of the number of people who worked or looked for work
  during the year--increased by 0.4 percentage point to 8.3 percent in 2024. (See table 3.)

--In 2024, the number of people who looked for a job but did not work at all edged up to 2.6
  million. (See table 3.)

People with Employment

The share of the population who worked at some time during 2024 edged down to 63.9 percent.
The percentage of women who worked was unchanged at 59.4 percent, while the percentage of men
who worked was down by 0.5 percentage point to 68.7 percent. Men continued to be more likely
to work at some time during the year than women. (See table 1.)

People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (67.4 percent) or people who are Asian (66.6 percent)
were more likely to have worked in 2024 than people who are White (63.8 percent) or Black
(62.7 percent). The proportion of people who are White that worked at some time during the
year decreased by 0.4 percentage point from the prior year, while the proportions for other
groups were little changed. (See table 2.)

Among those with work experience in 2024, 80.7 percent usually worked full time, unchanged
from a year earlier. Men remained more likely to work full time than women (85.6 percent
versus 75.1 percent). (See table 1.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, Asian (83.3 percent), Black (83.0 percent), and
Hispanic or Latino (81.7 percent) workers were more likely to work full time than White
workers (80.2 percent). The share of workers who worked full time in 2024 was little changed
for all major groups from the prior year. (See table 2.)

Of those who worked during 2024, 80.3 percent were employed year-round (working 50 to 52
weeks, either full or part time), little changed from 2023. Men (81.9 percent) continued to be
more likely to work year-round than women (78.6 percent) in 2024. The shares of both men and
women working year-round were little different from a year earlier. By race and ethnicity, the
share of individuals who worked year-round was 80.6 percent for White workers, 79.5 percent
for Black workers, 82.2 percent for Asian workers, and 80.1 percent for Hispanic workers. (See
tables 1 and 2.)

People with Unemployment

Overall, 177.2 million people worked or looked for work in 2024, up by 2.8 million from the
prior year. The number who experienced some unemployment increased by 978,000 to 14.7 million.
The work-experience unemployment rate (those unemployed during the year as a percentage of
those who worked or looked for work during the year) increased by 0.4 percentage point to 8.3
percent. In 2024, men continued to have a higher work-experience unemployment rate than women
(8.7 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively). The rates for both men and women were up by 0.4
percentage point over the year. (See table 3.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, the work-experience unemployment rates for Black
workers (11.7 percent) and White workers (7.6 percent) increased in 2024. The rates for
Hispanic workers (9.8 percent) and Asian workers (6.7 percent) showed little or no change. The
rate for men was higher than the rate for women among people who are White, Black, or
Hispanic, while the rates for Asian men and women were little different from each other. 
(See table 4.)

The number of individuals who both worked and experienced unemployment in 2024 was 12.1
million, an increase of 795,000 from the previous year. Among these workers, 21.5 percent
looked for work for 27 weeks or more, up from the year before. Additionally, 18.7 percent had
two or more spells of unemployment, down from the prior year. In 2024, the number of people
who looked for a job but did not work at all edged up to 2.6 million from 2023. (See table 3.)