December 20, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Work experience, 2006

The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 years old and over that worked at some time during the year was 67.8 percent in 2006, essentially unchanged from 2005.

Percent of the population who worked during the year by sex, race, and ethnicity, 2006
[Chart data—TXT]

The proportion of men who worked at some time during 2006 held at 74.4 percent. The percent of women who worked during 2006, at 61.6 percent, was little changed from a year earlier.

The proportions of whites (68.5 percent), blacks (63.6 percent), and Asians (67.5 percent) that worked some time during the year were essentially unchanged in 2006. The proportion of Hispanics who worked at some point during 2006 (69.1 percent) was up from 2005.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see "Work Experience of the Population in 2006," (PDF) (TXT) USDL news release 07-1923.

Of interest

Spotlight on Statistics: The Recession of 2007–2009

The most recent recession in the United States began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, though many of the statistics that describe the U.S. economy have yet to return to their pre-recession values. In this Spotlight, we present BLS data that compare the recent recession to previous recessions. Read more »