Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 98-470 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 606-5902 Wednesday, November 25, 1998 WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 1997 A total of 143.2 million persons worked at some time during 1997, according to the annual survey of work experience released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. This was 1.8 million above the level of the previous year. The number who experienced some unemployment declined by 1.2 million, to 15.6 million. Work experience data, which relate to labor force activity during an entire calendar year, are collected each March from supplemental questions asked as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional information on the annual survey, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note beginning on page 3. Highlights from the survey for 1997 are: --Seventy percent of the working-age population 16 years of age and older were engaged in some work activity during 1997, up slightly from 1996. --The proportion of all employed persons who usually worked full time (35 hours or more a week) was 79.0 percent. In addition, 73.8 percent of the employed worked year round (at least 50 weeks), compared with 72.8 percent in 1996. In 1997, 64.2 percent worked both year round and full time, compared with 63.3 percent in 1996. --The number of persons experiencing at least 1 week of unemployment was 15.6 million in 1997, down from 16.8 million in the prior year. About 86.4 percent of those reporting some unemployment also were employed at some time during the year. --Unemployment declined for all major worker groups. Persons with Employment In 1997, the proportion of the working-age population 16 years and over who worked at some time during the year reached 70.0 percent. The share of persons with some work activity during the year has trended upward for over three decades, except during recessionary periods. In 1967, 67.2 percent of the population age 16 years and older did some work during the year. The long-term rise in work activity of the population is entirely - 2 - attributable to the increasing likelihood of women working outside the home. Since 1967, the proportion of women who work during the year has risen from 51.3 to 63.6 percent. Conversely, the employment activity for men has decreased from 85.1 to 76.9 percent over the same period. The percentage of employed persons with full-time employment activity was 79.0 percent in 1997, virtually unchanged from 1996. (See table 1.) The shares of full- and part-time workers have changed little since the early 1970s. However, the extent of employment during the year continues to move towards year-round, rather than part-year, work. During 1997, 73.8 percent of persons with work experience were employed year round (either full or part time), compared with 65.0 percent in 1967. This rise primarily reflects the increasing likelihood of employed women working year round. Since 1967, the proportion of employed women working year round has climbed by 18 percentage points, from 52.0 to 70.0 percent. During the same period, the proportion of employed men working year round rose only slightly (from 73.9 to 77.3 percent). Persons with Unemployment Of the 145.3 million persons who participated in the labor force in 1997, 15.6 million experienced some unemployment during the year, resulting in a "work-experience unemployment rate" of 10.8 percent. (See table 3.) This was the lowest rate since the series began in 1958. The percentage of persons with unemployment during the year had been almost 16 percent during the 1991 recession and the beginning of the recovery in 1992. During 1997, blacks continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment rates" than Hispanics or whites (16.5 percent versus 14.1 and 9.9 percent, respectively). Of the 13.5 million persons who worked during 1997 and also experienced unemployment, about 3 out of 10 had two or more spells of joblessness. Among all persons with unemployment, the median number of weeks spent looking for work was 13.1, down by 0.7 week from 1996. Whites had a shorter duration of unemployment and a slightly lower proportion of workers with multiple spells of unemployment than either blacks or Hispanics. (See table 4.) During 1997, 13.6 percent of persons who looked for work had no work activity during the year. Although this ratio has been declining recently, it remains above the 1989 level (9.1 percent) just prior to the recession. Technical Note The data presented in this release were collected in March supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data from the CPS are used to obtain the monthly estimates of the nation?s employment and unemployment levels. Each March, additional questions are asked about work activity during the prior calendar year. For instance, data collected in March 1998 refer to the 1997 calendar year. Because the reference period is a full year, the number of persons with some employment or unemployment greatly exceeds the average levels for any given month, which are based on a 1-week reference period, and the corresponding annual average of the monthly estimates. As shown below, for example, the number experiencing any unemployment during 1997 was about 2-1/3 times the number unemployed in an average month during the year. Employed Unemployed 1997 estimates (in thousands) Annual average of monthly estimates 129,558 6,739 March supplement data 143,193 15,623 In addition, estimates from the March supplement differ from those obtained in the basic CPS because the questions used to classify workers as either employed or unemployed are different. More important, perhaps, is that fewer questions are asked in the supplement by which to categorize respondents. In particular, the March supplement has no questions on the type of job search activity or on the respondent?s availability to work. Also, individuals can be counted as both employed and unemployed in the work experience data, whereas for a specific reference week, each person is only counted in one category and employment activity takes precedence over job search activity. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577. Reliability of the estimates Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90- percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Non-sampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings. Concepts and definitions Persons who worked. In the March 1998 supplement, persons are considered to have worked if they responded "yes" to either the question "Did you work at a job or business at any time during 1997?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 1997?" Unemployed persons. Persons who worked during the year but not in every week are counted as unemployed if they also reported looking for work or being on layoff from a job during the year. Those who reported no work activity during the year are considered unemployed if they responded "yes" to the question "Even though you did not work in 1997, did you spend any time trying to find a job or on layoff?" Labor force participants. Persons who either worked or were unemployed during the year. Usual full- and part-time employment. These data refer to the number of hours a worker typically works during most weeks of the year. Workers are classified as full time if they usually worked 35 hours or more in a week; part-time employment refers to workers whose typical workweek was between 1 and 34 hours. Year-round and part-year employment. Workers are classified as year round if they worked 50 to 52 weeks. Part-year employment refers to workers who worked fewer than 50 weeks. Table 1. Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 1996-97 Total Men Women Extent of employment 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 Numbers (in thousands) Civilian noninstitutional population............................ 202,515 204,551 97,388 98,410 105,127 106,141 Total who worked or looked for work........................... 143,708 145,323 76,035 76,704 67,673 68,619 Percent of the population................................... 71.0 71.0 78.1 77.9 64.4 64.6 Total who worked during the year(1)........................... 141,379 143,193 75,009 75,726 66,371 67,468 Percent of the population................................... 69.8 70.0 77.0 76.9 63.1 63.6 Full time(2)................................................ 111,512 113,128 64,625 65,423 46,887 47,705 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 89,491 91,909 53,101 54,268 36,390 37,640 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 2,381 2,227 1,387 1,269 994 958 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 5,798 5,615 3,041 2,919 2,756 2,697 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 4,804 4,644 2,449 2,436 2,355 2,208 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 5,091 5,015 2,641 2,596 2,451 2,419 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 3,946 3,718 2,005 1,935 1,941 1,782 Part time(3)................................................ 29,868 30,066 10,384 10,303 19,484 19,763 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 13,379 13,795 4,318 4,236 9,061 9,560 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 851 805 232 285 619 520 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 2,774 2,710 899 933 1,876 1,777 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 3,017 3,046 1,004 1,052 2,012 1,994 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 4,680 4,561 1,861 1,617 2,819 2,944 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 5,167 5,148 2,071 2,180 3,097 2,968 Percent distribution Total who worked during the year(1)............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).................................................. 78.9 79.0 86.2 86.4 70.6 70.7 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 63.3 64.2 70.8 71.7 54.8 55.8 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.4 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 4.1 3.9 4.1 3.9 4.2 4.0 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.3 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.7 3.6 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.6 Part time(3).................................................. 21.1 21.0 13.8 13.6 29.4 29.3 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 9.5 9.6 5.8 5.6 13.7 14.2 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. .6 .6 .3 .4 .9 .8 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 2.0 1.9 1.2 1.2 2.8 2.6 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 2.1 2.1 1.3 1.4 3.0 3.0 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.3 3.2 2.5 2.1 4.2 4.4 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 3.7 3.6 2.8 2.9 4.7 4.4 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week. NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1996-97 (Numbers in thousands) Total Men Women Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 WHITE Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 169,555 170,955 82,324 83,037 87,230 87,918 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 121,113 121,772 65,152 65,366 55,962 56,406 Percent of the population................................. 71.4 71.2 79.1 78.7 64.2 64.2 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 119,579 120,454 64,484 64,753 55,094 55,701 Percent of the population................................. 70.5 70.5 78.3 78.0 63.2 63.4 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 78.3 78.6 86.3 86.6 69.0 69.4 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 63.3 64.1 71.5 72.1 53.7 54.8 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.1 8.8 9.1 8.8 9.2 8.7 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.7 6.2 5.9 Part time(3).............................................. 21.7 21.4 13.7 13.4 31.0 30.6 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 9.8 9.9 5.8 5.5 14.6 15.0 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 4.9 4.8 2.9 3.1 7.3 6.8 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 6.9 6.7 5.0 4.8 9.1 8.8 BLACK Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 23,893 24,255 10,709 10,870 13,184 13,385 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 16,140 16,782 7,484 7,719 8,656 9,063 Percent of the population................................. 67.6 69.2 69.9 71.0 65.7 67.7 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 15,485 16,110 7,206 7,447 8,279 8,663 Percent of the population................................. 64.8 66.4 67.3 68.5 62.8 64.7 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 82.3 81.4 85.1 85.0 79.8 78.3 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 63.2 64.4 65.3 68.3 61.3 61.1 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.8 8.8 10.4 8.7 9.2 8.9 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 9.3 8.1 9.3 8.0 9.3 8.2 Part time(3).............................................. 17.7 18.6 14.9 15.0 20.2 21.7 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 7.0 7.7 5.5 5.2 8.3 9.8 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 3.1 3.3 2.2 2.5 3.9 3.9 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 7.6 7.7 7.2 7.3 8.0 8.0 HISPANIC ORIGIN Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 20,114 20,854 10,257 10,626 9,857 10,229 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 13,973 14,586 8,256 8,567 5,717 6,019 Percent of the population................................. 69.5 69.9 80.5 80.6 58.0 58.8 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 13,600 14,232 8,084 8,397 5,516 5,836 Percent of the population................................. 67.6 68.2 78.8 79.0 56.0 57.0 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 81.4 82.0 87.0 88.1 73.2 73.2 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 62.1 63.8 67.9 70.7 53.5 53.8 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 10.7 9.8 11.2 9.7 10.0 10.0 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.7 8.4 7.9 7.7 9.8 9.3 Part time(3).............................................. 18.6 18.0 13.0 11.9 26.8 26.8 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 8.5 7.9 5.7 4.6 12.5 12.7 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 3.5 3.5 2.5 2.4 5.1 5.1 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 6.6 6.6 4.7 4.9 9.2 9.0 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1996-97 Total Men Women Extent of employment 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 Numbers (in thousands) Total who worked or looked for work............................. 143,708 145,323 76,035 76,704 67,673 68,619 Percent with unemployment..................................... 11.7 10.8 12.0 11.2 11.3 10.2 Total with unemployment....................................... 16,786 15,623 9,153 8,594 7,632 7,029 Did not work but looked for work............................ 2,329 2,129 1,026 978 1,303 1,151 1 to 14 weeks............................................. 1,137 955 434 385 704 570 15 weeks or more.......................................... 1,191 1,174 592 593 599 582 Worked during the year...................................... 14,457 13,494 8,128 7,616 6,330 5,878 Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment... 589 611 395 382 194 229 Part-year workers(2) with unemployment.................... 13,868 12,883 7,732 7,234 6,135 5,649 1 to 4 weeks............................................ 2,547 2,578 1,269 1,273 1,279 1,305 5 to 10 weeks........................................... 2,671 2,594 1,478 1,469 1,192 1,125 11 to 14 weeks.......................................... 2,020 1,822 1,258 1,068 762 754 15 to 26 weeks.......................................... 3,662 3,377 2,076 1,949 1,586 1,429 27 weeks or more........................................ 2,968 2,512 1,651 1,476 1,317 1,036 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.................... 13.8 13.1 13.9 13.6 13.6 12.5 With 2 spells or more of unemployment........................... 4,237 4,041 2,555 2,436 1,682 1,605 2 spells...................................................... 1,982 1,851 1,109 1,078 872 773 3 spells or more.............................................. 2,255 2,190 1,445 1,358 810 832 Percent distribution Did not work but looked for work................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1 to 14 weeks................................................. 48.8 44.8 42.3 39.4 54.0 49.5 15 weeks or more.............................................. 51.2 55.2 57.7 60.6 46.0 50.5 Worked during the year.......................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment....... 4.1 4.5 4.9 5.0 3.1 3.9 Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................ 95.9 95.5 95.1 95.0 96.9 96.1 1 to 4 weeks................................................ 17.6 19.1 15.6 16.7 20.2 22.2 5 to 10 weeks............................................... 18.5 19.2 18.2 19.3 18.8 19.1 11 to 14 weeks.............................................. 14.0 13.5 15.5 14.0 12.0 12.8 15 to 26 weeks.............................................. 25.3 25.0 25.5 25.6 25.1 24.3 27 weeks or more............................................ 20.5 18.6 20.3 19.4 20.8 17.6 With 2 spells or more of unemployment......................... 29.3 29.9 31.4 32.0 26.6 27.3 2 spells.................................................... 13.7 13.7 13.7 14.2 13.8 13.1 3 spells or more............................................ 15.6 16.2 17.8 17.8 12.8 14.2 1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks. 2 Worked less than 50 weeks. NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1996-97 (Numbers in thousands) Total Men Women Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 WHITE Total who worked or looked for work........................... 121,113 121,772 65,152 65,366 55,962 56,406 Percent with unemployment................................... 10.8 9.9 11.2 10.5 10.3 9.3 Total with unemployment..................................... 13,084 12,082 7,308 6,852 5,776 5,230 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 1,534 1,319 667 614 867 705 Worked during the year.................................... 11,550 10,764 6,641 6,238 4,909 4,526 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 13.1 12.4 13.3 13.0 12.8 11.4 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 4.4 5.2 5.3 5.7 3.3 4.4 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 95.6 94.8 94.7 94.3 96.7 95.6 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 18.1 20.3 16.2 17.5 20.6 24.2 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 34.7 33.6 35.6 33.9 33.4 33.1 15 weeks or more...................................... 42.8 41.0 42.9 42.9 42.7 38.3 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 29.2 29.6 31.5 32.4 26.0 25.9 BLACK Total who worked or looked for work........................... 16,140 16,782 7,484 7,719 8,656 9,063 Percent with unemployment................................... 18.0 16.5 18.4 16.6 17.7 16.4 Total with unemployment..................................... 2,910 2,766 1,381 1,281 1,530 1,484 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 655 672 278 272 377 400 Worked during the year.................................... 2,255 2,094 1,102 1,010 1,152 1,084 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 20.6 17.8 20.2 18.4 21.0 17.3 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 2.6 2.1 3.3 1.6 2.0 2.6 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 97.4 97.9 96.7 98.4 98.0 97.4 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 14.5 12.3 12.7 11.6 16.3 13.0 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 21.4 28.9 23.0 29.5 19.9 28.3 15 weeks or more...................................... 61.4 56.7 61.0 57.3 61.9 56.1 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 30.4 30.2 31.5 28.3 29.3 32.1 HISPANIC ORIGIN Total who worked or looked for work........................... 13,973 14,586 8,256 8,567 5,717 6,019 Percent with unemployment................................... 16.6 14.1 17.0 14.6 16.1 13.2 Total with unemployment..................................... 2,322 2,052 1,403 1,255 919 797 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 373 354 172 171 201 184 Worked during the year.................................... 1,949 1,698 1,231 1,084 718 613 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 16.4 14.9 15.3 14.7 18.0 15.4 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 3.6 3.9 4.2 4.5 2.5 2.9 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 96.4 96.1 95.8 95.5 97.5 97.1 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 15.3 15.6 14.3 14.3 17.1 18.0 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 28.1 30.8 30.9 32.3 23.3 28.1 15 weeks or more...................................... 53.0 49.7 50.6 48.9 57.1 51.0 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 30.5 34.5 32.3 37.5 27.4 29.2 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Worked 50 or 51 weeks. 3 Worked less than 50 weeks. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer to persons 16 years and over.