Work Experience of the Population (Annual) News Release

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.)

Technical Note

     The data presented in this news release were collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement
(ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly sample survey of about 60,000
eligible households, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS). Data from the CPS are used to obtain the monthly estimates of the nation's employment and
unemployment levels. The ASEC, conducted in the months of February through April, includes questions
about work activity during the prior calendar year. 
     For instance, data collected in 2025 refer to the 2024 calendar year. Because the reference
period is a full year, the number of people 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 of
people experiencing any unemployment during the year was about twice the number who were unemployed
in an average month during the year.

2024 estimates        		
(in thousands)	               Employed          Unemployed
     
Annual average of 
  monthly estimates .........  161,346             6,761
Annual supplement data ......  174,555	           14,702

     In addition, estimates from the supplement differ from those obtained in the basic CPS because
the supplement uses different questions to classify workers as either employed or unemployed, and
there are fewer supplement questions on work and job search activity. Regarding unemployment, the
supplement has no questions on the type of job search activity nor on the respondent's availability
to work, although in the basic CPS this information is key in defining unemployment. Also,
individuals can be counted as both employed and unemployed in the work experience supplement data
because it includes all work experience over a calendar year, whereas, for a specific monthly
reference week, each person is only counted in one category and employment activity takes precedence
over job search activity.
     The data presented in this news release are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years due
to the introduction of updated population controls used in the CPS. The population controls are
updated each year in January to reflect the latest information about population change. Additional
information is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

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 component of this difference that occurs
because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its 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. Nonsampling 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.
     A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating
standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

     Concepts and definitions

     The principal terms used in this news release are described briefly below. 

     People who worked. In the 2025 supplement, people 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 2024?"
or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 2024?"

     Unemployed people. People 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 2024, did you spend any time trying to find
a job or on layoff?"

      Work-experience unemployment rate. 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.
     
      Labor force participants. People 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.

Other information

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