Work Experience Technical Note

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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