Work Experience Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, December 18, 2024           	                   USDL-24-2563

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 -- 2023


There were 13.7 million people who experienced unemployment at some point during 2023, up by
747,000 from 2022, 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
increased by 0.4 percentage point to 64.2 percent in 2023.

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 2023 data:

--A total of 171.9 million people worked at some point during 2023, up by 2.2 million from the
  prior year. (See table 1.)

--The proportion of workers who worked full time, year-round in 2023 was 70.1 percent, down by
  0.9 percentage point 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 0.3 percentage point to 7.9 percent in 2023. (See table 3.)

--There were 2.4 million individuals who looked for a job but did not work at all in 2023, up by
  351,000 from 2022. (See table 3.)

People with Employment

Overall, 64.2 percent of the population worked in 2023, up from 63.8 percent in 2022. In 2023,
the percentage of women who worked at some time during the year increased by 0.5 percentage 
point to 59.4 percent, and the percentage of men who worked at some time during the year was
up by 0.4 percentage point to 69.2 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 were more likely to have worked in 2023 (67.2 percent) than
people who are Asian (65.6 percent), White (64.2 percent), or Black (63.0 percent). The proportion
of people who are White that worked at some time during the year increased by 0.5 percentage point
from the prior year, while the proportions for other groups were little changed. (See table 2.) 

Among those with work experience in 2023, 80.7 percent usually worked full time, down by 1.2 
percentage points from a year earlier. Men remained more likely to work full time than women (85.8 
percent versus 75.1 percent). However, the percentages of both men and women declined from the
prior year. (See table 1.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, Black (83.7 percent), Asian (83.7 percent), and Hispanic
or Latino (81.6 percent) workers were more likely to work full time than White workers (80.1 percent). 
The shares of Black and White workers declined over the year, while the rates for Asian and Hispanic
workers were little changed from the prior survey. (See table 2.)

Of those who worked during 2023, 80.5 percent were employed year-round (working 50 to 52 weeks,
either full or part time), little changed from 2022. Men continued to be more likely to work
year-round than women in 2023. The shares of both men (82.2 percent) and women (78.5 percent)
working year-round were little different from a year earlier. By race and ethnicity, Asian workers
(82.2 percent) were slightly more likely to work year-round than White (80.5 percent), Black
(80.7 percent), and Hispanic (79.2 percent) workers in 2023. (See tables 1 and 2.)

People with Unemployment

Overall, 174.4 million people worked or looked for work in 2023, up by 2.5 million from the prior
year. The number who experienced some unemployment increased by 747,000 to 13.7 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 0.3 percentage point to 7.9 percent. This
measure had reached an all-time low in 2022, at 7.6 percent. (See table 3.) 

In 2023, men continued to have a higher work-experience unemployment rate than women (8.3 percent
and 7.4 percent, respectively). The rate for men increased from the prior year, while the rate for
women was little changed. (See table 3.) 

The work-experience unemployment rate was little changed for all of the major race and ethnicity
groups in 2023. The work-experience unemployment rates for Black (10.5 percent) and Hispanic
(9.8 percent) workers were higher than those for White (7.3 percent) and Asian (6.8 percent) 
workers. The rate for white men was higher than the rate for white women, while among Black, Asian,
and Hispanic workers, the rates for men and women were little different from each other.
(See table 4.)

The number of individuals who both worked and experienced unemployment in 2023 was 11.3 million, an
increase of 396,000 from the previous year. Among these workers, 45 percent looked for work for 15
weeks or more, little different from the year before. Additionally, 20 percent had two or more
spells of unemployment, also little changed from the prior year. There were 2.4 million people that
looked for work, but did not work at all in 2023, up by 351,000 from a year earlier. (See table 3.)