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Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

The Current Population Survey (CPS) provides a wealth of information on the nation’s labor force including data on the employed, unemployed, and those not in the labor force. Key CPS measures are the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-population ratio.

Explore CPS topics to learn about people’s work and job search activity and various demographic characteristics.

Notices

  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census Bureau have paused plans to reduce the Current Population Survey (CPS) sample in January 2025 Read More »

Charts

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Latest Numbers

RSS
Seasonally Adjusted

Unemployment Rate: 4.2% in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Change in Unemployment Level: +161,000 in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Change in Employment Level: -355,000 in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Change in Civilian Labor Force Level: -193,000 in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: 62.5% in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Employment-Population Ratio: 59.8% in Nov 2024 Historical Data

Annual Averages

Unemployment Rate: 3.6% for 2023 Historical Data

Unemployment Level: 6,080,000 for 2023 Historical Data

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Videos

Understanding BLS Unemployment Statistics

Learn how the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the unemployment rate.

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News Releases

Payroll employment rises by 227,000 in November; unemployment rate changes little at 4.2%

12/06/2024

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in November, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent. Employment trended up in health care, leisure and hospitality, government, and social assistance. Retail trade lost jobs.
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Full-time wage and salary workers median weekly earnings are $1,165 in 3rd quarter 2024

10/17/2024

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 120.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $1,165 in the third quarter of 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). This was 4.2 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.6 percent in the CPI-U.
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Next Release

The Employment Situation for December 2024 is scheduled to be released on January 10, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

See the CPS release calendar for a schedule of news releases on other topics.

Publications

The Economics Daily

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Median weekly earnings $946 for workers with high school diploma, $1,533 for bachelor's degree

In the third quarter of 2024, full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over, across all levels of education, had median weekly earnings of $1,233. This was 5.2 percent higher than a year earlier. By comparison, prices rose 2.6 percent over the same period as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). read more »

Monthly Labor Review

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Why did labor force nonparticipation increase from 1999 to 2022?

This article examines data on people who were not in the labor force—those who neither worked nor looked for work—and the reasons they gave for not working. read more »

BLS Reports

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Highlights of women’s earnings in 2023

This report compares data for women and men who usually work full time, with sections focusing on characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, education, occupation, and more. read more »

Spotlight on Statistics

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Keeping America Moving: Employment in Transportation and Warehousing Industries

In June 2024, the transportation and warehousing industry had an employment level of 6.6 million, accounting for 5 percent of all private-sector jobs. Transportation and warehousing encompasses a wide variety of industries, such as warehousing and storage, truck and air transportation, and school and city buses. This Spotlight examines these industries' differing employment trends, worker characteristics, earnings, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, and projected 2032 employment. read more »

Beyond the Numbers

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Resilience through two recessions: veterans in the labor market since 2003

The labor force participation rate and the unemployment rate for veterans are important to guiding policy decisions that help veterans transition to civilian life and improve veterans’ employment outcomes. Recently, the BLS produced seasonally adjusted data for veterans and nonveterans retroactively back to 2003. Using this data, this article analyzes the impact of recessions and the pandemic on these labor market measures for veterans and nonveterans. read more »