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Labor force participation rate down, employment–population ratio little changed in September

October 07, 2020

The labor force participation rate decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 61.4 percent in September 2020. This was 2.0 percentage points lower than in February and up from a low of 60.2 percent in April.

Civilian labor force participation rate, seasonally adjusted
Month Total Men, 20 years and older Women, 20 years and older 16 to 19 years old White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino

Sep 2010

64.6% 74.1% 60.3% 34.1% 65.0% 61.8% 64.2% 67.6%

Oct 2010

64.4 73.6 60.1 35.1 64.8 62.0 65.2 66.8

Nov 2010

64.6 73.7 60.4 34.7 64.8 62.5 64.6 67.1

Dec 2010

64.3 73.6 60.1 34.3 64.7 62.1 64.4 67.0

Jan 2011

64.2 73.4 60.0 34.6 64.6 61.6 64.9 67.1

Feb 2011

64.1 73.5 59.9 33.8 64.5 61.4 64.8 66.0

Mar 2011

64.2 73.4 60.0 34.2 64.6 61.3 65.3 66.4

Apr 2011

64.2 73.5 60.0 33.9 64.7 61.4 64.2 66.4

May 2011

64.1 73.5 59.8 33.3 64.6 61.0 65.1 66.0

Jun 2011

64.0 73.4 59.6 33.8 64.5 61.1 64.4 66.2

Jul 2011

64.0 73.3 59.7 33.5 64.5 60.7 64.3 66.1

Aug 2011

64.1 73.4 59.7 34.8 64.5 61.6 63.8 66.7

Sep 2011

64.2 73.4 59.9 34.6 64.5 62.2 64.3 66.7

Oct 2011

64.1 73.3 59.7 34.5 64.5 61.5 64.9 67.0

Nov 2011

64.1 73.4 59.6 34.6 64.4 61.4 64.3 66.6

Dec 2011

64.0 73.4 59.5 34.3 64.3 61.9 64.6 66.8

Jan 2012

63.7 73.3 59.3 33.6 64.2 61.1 64.2 66.3

Feb 2012

63.8 73.2 59.5 33.8 64.2 61.6 62.9 66.8

Mar 2012

63.8 73.2 59.4 34.0 64.1 61.8 63.3 66.3

Apr 2012

63.7 73.0 59.3 34.1 64.0 61.3 62.5 66.4

May 2012

63.7 73.1 59.4 34.2 64.1 61.3 63.5 67.0

Jun 2012

63.8 73.1 59.4 34.6 64.1 62.1 64.1 66.9

Jul 2012

63.7 73.0 59.2 35.0 63.9 61.6 64.5 66.5

Aug 2012

63.5 72.8 59.2 34.3 63.8 61.3 63.6 66.1

Sep 2012

63.6 73.0 59.3 34.2 64.0 61.2 64.0 66.3

Oct 2012

63.8 73.1 59.3 34.6 64.0 62.2 63.6 66.3

Nov 2012

63.6 72.9 59.2 34.7 63.8 61.3 64.8 65.7

Dec 2012

63.7 73.0 59.3 34.2 63.9 61.3 65.7 65.8

Jan 2013

63.7 73.1 59.0 35.1 63.9 61.8 64.9 66.2

Feb 2013

63.4 72.8 58.9 34.6 63.6 61.7 64.8 66.3

Mar 2013

63.3 72.6 58.8 33.9 63.5 61.2 64.2 65.4

Apr 2013

63.4 72.7 58.9 34.2 63.7 61.5 64.0 65.7

May 2013

63.4 72.7 58.9 34.8 63.7 61.7 63.7 66.5

Jun 2013

63.4 72.6 59.0 34.6 63.7 61.6 65.3 66.3

Jul 2013

63.3 72.5 58.8 34.9 63.6 61.2 64.4 66.7

Aug 2013

63.3 72.4 58.9 34.4 63.5 60.7 64.7 66.3

Sep 2013

63.2 72.4 58.8 34.8 63.4 61.2 65.3 65.8

Oct 2013

62.8 71.9 58.4 34.1 63.0 60.6 64.2 65.7

Nov 2013

63.0 72.2 58.4 34.2 63.3 60.4 64.7 66.0

Dec 2013

62.9 72.0 58.6 33.7 63.2 60.3 64.6 65.5

Jan 2014

62.9 72.0 58.6 33.1 63.2 60.6 63.9 65.9

Feb 2014

62.9 71.9 58.8 32.5 63.2 60.9 63.9 66.0

Mar 2014

63.1 72.1 58.8 33.9 63.3 61.3 64.3 66.1

Apr 2014

62.8 71.8 58.5 33.3 63.0 61.0 63.6 65.6

May 2014

62.9 71.9 58.6 33.7 63.1 60.8 63.8 65.8

Jun 2014

62.8 72.0 58.4 33.7 63.1 61.1 62.9 66.3

Jul 2014

62.9 72.0 58.4 34.3 63.0 61.7 62.8 66.0

Aug 2014

62.9 72.1 58.4 33.8 63.1 61.0 63.7 66.1

Sep 2014

62.8 72.0 58.3 34.1 63.0 61.6 63.4 66.1

Oct 2014

62.9 71.7 58.5 35.6 63.0 61.3 63.9 66.5

Nov 2014

62.9 71.8 58.5 35.0 63.1 61.3 63.2 66.4

Dec 2014

62.8 71.9 58.2 34.6 62.9 61.4 63.4 66.1

Jan 2015

62.9 71.9 58.4 34.8 63.1 60.9 62.6 66.6

Feb 2015

62.7 71.8 58.1 34.4 62.9 61.0 63.1 66.1

Mar 2015

62.6 71.8 58.0 34.7 62.8 61.1 62.4 66.2

Apr 2015

62.8 71.9 58.2 34.6 62.8 62.2 63.3 66.4

May 2015

62.9 72.0 58.4 35.1 63.0 62.1 63.8 66.3

Jun 2015

62.7 71.7 58.2 34.0 62.8 61.8 62.8 66.2

Jul 2015

62.6 71.7 58.1 33.7 62.7 61.5 62.6 66.0

Aug 2015

62.6 71.6 58.2 33.9 62.7 61.7 62.4 65.7

Sep 2015

62.4 71.4 57.9 33.8 62.5 61.4 62.1 65.3

Oct 2015

62.5 71.4 58.1 33.9 62.6 61.5 61.8 65.6

Nov 2015

62.5 71.3 58.3 33.8 62.7 61.6 63.2 65.5

Dec 2015

62.7 71.6 58.3 35.3 62.8 61.7 63.3 65.5

Jan 2016

62.7 71.5 58.3 35.0 62.9 61.4 62.3 65.8

Feb 2016

62.8 71.8 58.3 35.2 63.0 61.5 63.2 66.1

Mar 2016

62.9 71.9 58.5 34.9 63.1 61.5 63.3 66.2

Apr 2016

62.8 71.8 58.3 35.3 63.0 61.1 63.8 65.7

May 2016

62.7 71.6 58.2 35.3 62.9 61.0 63.3 65.5

Jun 2016

62.7 71.9 58.1 34.3 62.9 61.4 63.3 65.8

Jul 2016

62.7 71.8 58.1 35.2 62.9 61.3 63.5 65.8

Aug 2016

62.9 71.8 58.2 36.1 62.9 62.0 63.2 66.2

Sep 2016

62.9 71.8 58.3 35.9 62.9 62.0 63.5 66.1

Oct 2016

62.8 71.7 58.3 35.3 62.8 61.8 63.7 65.7

Nov 2016

62.7 71.5 58.2 35.3 62.7 62.0 62.9 65.6

Dec 2016

62.7 71.6 58.2 34.9 62.7 61.9 62.9 65.7

Jan 2017

62.8 71.7 58.3 35.3 62.8 62.1 63.7 66.0

Feb 2017

62.8 71.6 58.5 35.0 62.8 62.2 63.8 66.5

Mar 2017

62.9 71.6 58.6 35.5 62.9 62.2 63.0 66.6

Apr 2017

63.0 71.6 58.6 35.9 62.9 62.5 63.5 66.2

May 2017

62.8 71.5 58.5 35.2 62.7 62.4 63.8 66.1

Jun 2017

62.8 71.6 58.4 35.7 62.8 62.0 63.6 66.0

Jul 2017

62.8 71.5 58.6 34.8 62.8 62.3 64.0 66.4

Aug 2017

62.9 71.7 58.5 35.4 62.9 62.2 64.3 65.9

Sep 2017

63.1 71.9 58.6 36.1 63.0 62.6 64.4 66.4

Oct 2017

62.7 71.6 58.3 34.7 62.6 62.2 63.7 65.5

Nov 2017

62.7 71.5 58.3 34.8 62.7 62.4 63.0 65.6

Dec 2017

62.7 71.6 58.2 34.4 62.7 62.1 62.8 65.6

Jan 2018

62.7 71.7 58.1 35.5 62.7 61.9 62.9 65.9

Feb 2018

63.0 71.9 58.3 36.0 63.0 62.8 62.8 66.3

Mar 2018

62.9 71.8 58.3 35.2 62.8 62.8 63.1 65.9

Apr 2018

62.9 71.8 58.3 35.0 62.9 61.9 63.2 66.5

May 2018

62.9 71.8 58.3 35.0 62.9 62.1 62.7 66.3

Jun 2018

63.0 71.6 58.7 35.1 62.9 62.4 63.6 66.5

Jul 2018

62.9 71.4 58.7 35.1 62.8 62.6 63.8 66.7

Aug 2018

62.7 71.4 58.5 33.4 62.6 62.2 63.7 65.9

Sep 2018

62.8 71.4 58.4 34.9 62.6 62.4 64.3 66.0

Oct 2018

62.9 71.5 58.6 35.5 62.8 62.6 64.0 66.1

Nov 2018

62.9 71.4 58.6 35.2 62.9 62.2 64.1 66.7

Dec 2018

63.0 71.5 58.8 35.5 63.0 62.0 63.7 66.9

Jan 2019

63.2 71.8 58.9 35.4 63.0 62.7 64.3 67.3

Feb 2019

63.1 71.7 58.8 34.7 63.0 62.5 64.6 66.7

Mar 2019

63.0 71.7 58.7 35.1 63.0 62.1 64.0 66.9

Apr 2019

62.8 71.5 58.6 34.1 62.8 62.5 62.6 66.0

May 2019

62.9 71.6 58.6 34.6 62.8 62.4 63.1 66.2

Jun 2019

63.0 71.5 58.7 35.4 62.9 61.9 63.6 66.4

Jul 2019

63.0 71.6 58.6 36.1 62.9 62.7 63.7 66.4

Aug 2019

63.2 71.6 59.0 35.5 63.1 62.3 64.1 66.7

Sep 2019

63.2 71.6 59.1 35.3 63.2 62.5 64.2 67.0

Oct 2019

63.3 71.6 59.2 35.6 63.2 62.5 65.3 67.3

Nov 2019

63.2 71.6 59.0 35.9 63.2 62.3 64.7 67.4

Dec 2019

63.2 71.5 59.2 35.7 63.2 63.1 63.6 67.1

Jan 2020

63.4 71.8 59.2 36.1 63.4 62.6 63.9 67.8

Feb 2020

63.4 71.7 59.2 36.4 63.3 63.1 64.4 68.1

Mar 2020

62.7 70.9 58.6 35.5 62.7 62.0 63.8 67.1

Apr 2020

60.2 68.6 56.3 30.8 60.3 58.6 60.7 63.3

May 2020

60.8 69.0 56.8 33.9 61.0 59.6 60.8 64.1

Jun 2020

61.5 69.8 57.5 32.3 61.6 60.0 61.4 65.5

Jul 2020

61.4 69.7 57.6 31.7 61.4 60.2 63.4 64.6

Aug 2020

61.7 70.1 57.6 33.9 61.8 60.4 63.8 65.3

Sep 2020

61.4 69.9 56.8 36.2 61.6 59.7 63.0 64.9

The employment–population ratio, at 56.6 percent, changed little in September but was 4.5 percentage points lower than in February. The September ratio was up from a low of 51.3 percent in April.

Employment-population ratio, seasonally adjusted
Month Total Men, 20 years and over Women, 20 years and over 16 to 19 years old White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino

Sep 2010

58.5% 67.0% 55.4% 25.3% 59.5% 51.9% 59.9% 59.3%

Oct 2010

58.3 66.8 55.3 25.5 59.2 52.3 60.5 58.6

Nov 2010

58.2 66.4 55.3 26.1 59.0 52.4 59.8 58.4

Dec 2010

58.3 66.7 55.3 25.6 59.2 52.4 59.7 58.3

Jan 2011

58.3 66.7 55.3 25.7 59.4 51.9 60.5 58.9

Feb 2011

58.4 66.9 55.1 25.7 59.3 51.9 60.4 58.3

Mar 2011

58.4 66.9 55.3 25.9 59.5 51.6 60.5 58.7

Apr 2011

58.4 66.9 55.2 25.5 59.5 51.3 60.0 58.6

May 2011

58.3 67.0 55.0 25.4 59.5 51.1 60.3 58.3

Jun 2011

58.2 66.8 54.9 25.5 59.3 51.2 60.2 58.6

Jul 2011

58.2 66.8 55.0 25.2 59.3 51.0 59.5 58.7

Aug 2011

58.3 67.0 55.0 26.1 59.4 51.5 59.2 59.2

Sep 2011

58.4 67.0 55.0 26.1 59.4 52.3 59.2 59.2

Oct 2011

58.4 67.0 55.1 26.1 59.3 52.5 60.1 59.4

Nov 2011

58.6 67.4 55.0 26.3 59.5 51.8 60.1 59.1

Dec 2011

58.6 67.5 54.9 26.3 59.5 52.3 60.2 59.4

Jan 2012

58.4 67.6 54.8 25.6 59.4 52.8 59.9 59.2

Feb 2012

58.5 67.6 54.9 25.8 59.5 53.0 59.0 59.5

Mar 2012

58.5 67.5 55.0 25.6 59.4 53.2 59.2 59.3

Apr 2012

58.4 67.4 54.9 25.6 59.3 53.2 59.1 59.6

May 2012

58.5 67.5 55.0 25.8 59.4 53.0 60.0 59.7

Jun 2012

58.6 67.4 55.0 26.6 59.4 53.1 60.3 59.6

Jul 2012

58.5 67.4 54.8 26.7 59.2 52.8 60.7 59.7

Aug 2012

58.4 67.3 54.9 26.0 59.2 52.9 59.9 59.4

Sep 2012

58.7 67.6 55.1 26.1 59.5 52.9 60.9 59.8

Oct 2012

58.8 67.8 55.1 26.3 59.6 53.4 60.4 59.7

Nov 2012

58.7 67.7 55.0 26.4 59.5 53.2 60.7 59.2

Dec 2012

58.7 67.7 54.9 25.9 59.5 52.7 61.3 59.5

Jan 2013

58.6 67.6 54.7 26.8 59.4 53.3 60.8 59.8

Feb 2013

58.6 67.7 54.8 25.8 59.3 53.2 60.9 59.8

Mar 2013

58.5 67.6 54.7 25.8 59.3 53.3 61.0 59.3

Apr 2013

58.6 67.5 55.0 25.8 59.4 53.3 60.6 59.8

May 2013

58.6 67.5 55.0 26.3 59.4 53.5 60.8 60.5

Jun 2013

58.6 67.5 55.0 26.6 59.4 52.9 62.2 60.3

Jul 2013

58.7 67.5 55.1 26.8 59.5 53.5 61.0 60.4

Aug 2013

58.7 67.2 55.3 26.7 59.4 53.0 61.4 60.2

Sep 2013

58.7 67.3 55.1 27.4 59.4 53.3 61.8 60.0

Oct 2013

58.3 66.9 54.7 26.6 59.1 52.8 60.8 59.7

Nov 2013

58.6 67.4 54.8 27.1 59.4 53.0 61.3 60.2

Dec 2013

58.7 67.5 55.0 26.8 59.5 53.1 61.8 60.0

Jan 2014

58.8 67.5 55.2 26.4 59.6 53.3 60.9 60.4

Feb 2014

58.7 67.4 55.4 25.6 59.6 53.7 60.2 60.6

Mar 2014

58.9 67.8 55.2 26.9 59.6 53.9 60.7 60.9

Apr 2014

58.9 67.6 55.2 26.8 59.7 53.9 59.8 60.8

May 2014

58.9 67.6 55.2 27.2 59.7 53.9 60.1 60.7

Jun 2014

59.0 67.9 55.3 26.8 59.7 54.4 59.9 61.2

Jul 2014

59.0 67.9 55.2 27.3 59.7 54.5 60.2 60.9

Aug 2014

59.0 68.0 55.1 27.2 59.8 54.1 60.9 61.2

Sep 2014

59.1 68.1 55.1 27.3 59.8 54.8 60.6 61.6

Oct 2014

59.3 68.1 55.3 29.0 60.0 54.8 60.6 62.0

Nov 2014

59.2 67.8 55.4 29.0 59.9 54.7 60.2 62.0

Dec 2014

59.3 68.1 55.3 28.7 59.9 54.9 60.6 61.9

Jan 2015

59.3 68.1 55.4 28.3 60.1 54.6 60.1 62.1

Feb 2015

59.2 68.1 55.3 28.6 59.9 54.8 60.6 61.7

Mar 2015

59.2 68.1 55.2 28.6 59.8 55.0 60.4 61.7

Apr 2015

59.3 68.2 55.3 28.7 59.8 56.2 60.5 61.8

May 2015

59.4 68.3 55.4 28.8 60.0 55.8 61.1 61.8

Jun 2015

59.4 68.2 55.5 27.9 59.9 55.9 60.3 61.7

Jul 2015

59.3 68.3 55.3 28.2 59.9 55.9 60.2 61.4

Aug 2015

59.4 68.2 55.5 28.1 59.9 55.9 60.3 61.3

Sep 2015

59.2 68.1 55.2 28.2 59.8 55.7 59.9 61.3

Oct 2015

59.3 68.1 55.4 28.5 59.9 55.9 59.6 61.5

Nov 2015

59.4 67.9 55.6 28.6 59.9 55.8 60.7 61.3

Dec 2015

59.6 68.2 55.7 29.6 60.0 56.4 60.7 61.4

Jan 2016

59.7 68.4 55.7 29.5 60.2 56.1 60.0 62.0

Feb 2016

59.7 68.5 55.7 29.9 60.3 56.2 60.8 62.5

Mar 2016

59.8 68.6 55.8 29.3 60.4 56.0 60.8 62.6

Apr 2016

59.7 68.5 55.6 29.6 60.3 55.7 61.3 61.7

May 2016

59.7 68.4 55.7 29.6 60.2 56.0 60.6 61.8

Jun 2016

59.7 68.6 55.6 28.8 60.2 56.0 61.0 61.9

Jul 2016

59.7 68.5 55.7 29.7 60.2 56.1 61.1 62.2

Aug 2016

59.8 68.5 55.7 30.3 60.2 57.0 60.6 62.5

Sep 2016

59.8 68.5 55.7 30.1 60.2 56.7 61.1 61.9

Oct 2016

59.7 68.4 55.7 29.7 60.1 56.6 61.5 61.9

Nov 2016

59.7 68.4 55.7 30.0 60.1 57.0 60.9 61.8

Dec 2016

59.8 68.4 55.7 29.8 60.0 57.1 61.2 61.9

Jan 2017

59.9 68.6 55.8 30.2 60.1 57.5 61.4 62.2

Feb 2017

59.9 68.6 56.0 30.0 60.2 57.3 61.6 62.8

Mar 2017

60.1 68.6 56.3 30.7 60.5 57.3 60.9 63.3

Apr 2017

60.2 68.8 56.2 30.6 60.5 57.6 61.5 62.8

May 2017

60.1 68.7 56.1 30.2 60.4 57.6 61.4 62.7

Jun 2017

60.1 68.7 56.1 30.9 60.4 57.6 61.3 62.8

Jul 2017

60.1 68.7 56.3 30.2 60.5 57.7 61.6 63.0

Aug 2017

60.1 68.7 56.2 30.5 60.5 57.5 61.8 62.5

Sep 2017

60.4 69.1 56.3 31.4 60.6 58.1 62.1 63.0

Oct 2017

60.1 68.9 56.1 29.8 60.4 57.6 61.8 62.3

Nov 2017

60.1 68.8 56.2 29.2 60.4 57.7 61.1 62.4

Dec 2017

60.1 68.9 56.0 29.7 60.4 58.0 61.3 62.4

Jan 2018

60.2 68.9 56.0 30.6 60.5 57.3 61.0 62.6

Feb 2018

60.4 69.2 56.1 31.0 60.6 58.6 61.0 63.1

Mar 2018

60.4 69.1 56.2 30.5 60.6 58.5 61.2 62.6

Apr 2018

60.4 69.1 56.2 30.5 60.7 57.9 61.4 63.3

May 2018

60.5 69.2 56.4 30.5 60.7 58.4 61.3 63.1

Jun 2018

60.5 69.0 56.5 30.7 60.7 58.3 61.5 63.5

Jul 2018

60.5 69.0 56.6 30.5 60.7 58.4 61.8 63.7

Aug 2018

60.3 68.9 56.5 29.2 60.5 58.2 61.8 62.8

Sep 2018

60.4 68.9 56.5 30.5 60.6 58.6 62.0 63.0

Oct 2018

60.5 69.0 56.6 31.2 60.7 58.6 62.0 63.2

Nov 2018

60.5 69.1 56.6 30.8 60.8 58.4 62.4 63.7

Dec 2018

60.6 69.0 56.7 31.1 60.9 57.9 61.7 64.0

Jan 2019

60.7 69.1 56.8 30.8 60.8 58.4 62.3 64.0

Feb 2019

60.7 69.2 56.9 30.1 60.9 58.2 62.6 63.8

Mar 2019

60.6 69.1 56.7 30.6 60.9 58.0 62.1 63.8

Apr 2019

60.6 69.1 56.8 29.7 60.8 58.4 61.2 63.2

May 2019

60.6 69.2 56.6 30.2 60.8 58.5 61.5 63.4

Jun 2019

60.7 69.1 56.7 30.9 60.9 58.2 62.2 63.6

Jul 2019

60.7 69.2 56.6 31.5 60.8 59.0 62.0 63.4

Aug 2019

60.9 69.2 57.0 31.1 61.0 58.9 62.2 63.9

Sep 2019

61.0 69.3 57.2 30.9 61.2 59.0 62.6 64.4

Oct 2019

61.0 69.3 57.3 31.3 61.2 59.0 63.5 64.5

Nov 2019

61.0 69.4 57.0 31.6 61.2 58.8 63.0 64.6

Dec 2019

61.0 69.3 57.3 31.2 61.2 59.3 62.0 64.3

Jan 2020

61.2 69.5 57.3 31.7 61.4 58.9 61.9 64.9

Feb 2020

61.1 69.3 57.4 32.4 61.3 59.4 62.8 65.1

Mar 2020

60.0 68.1 56.3 30.5 60.2 57.8 61.1 63.0

Apr 2020

51.3 59.6 47.6 21.0 51.8 48.8 51.9 51.3

May 2020

52.8 61.0 48.9 23.7 53.4 49.6 51.7 52.8

Jun 2020

54.6 62.7 51.1 24.8 55.4 50.8 52.9 56.0

Jul 2020

55.1 63.1 51.6 25.6 55.7 51.5 55.8 56.3

Aug 2020

56.5 64.5 52.7 28.4 57.3 52.5 57.0 58.4

Sep 2020

56.6 64.7 52.4 30.5 57.3 52.5 57.4 58.2

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “The Employment Situation — September 2020.” More charts featuring Current Population Survey data are presented in charts related to the latest "The Employment Situation" news release. People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor force participation rate down, employment–population ratio little changed in September at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/labor-force-participation-rate-down-employment-population-ratio-little-changed-in-september.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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