Article

June 2022

U.S. labor market shows improvement in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on the economy

The U.S. labor market continued to recover in 2021 from the recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Both the number of people who were unemployed and the unemployment rate decreased over the year. Although both measures are still above their prepandemic levels, the number of unemployed fell by 4.1 million over the year, to 6.8 million, and the unemployment rate decreased by 2.6 percentage points, averaging 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. The employment–population ratio increased by 1.8 percentage points, to 59.2 percent, while the labor force participation rate showed more modest improvement, increasing by 0.3 percentage point during the year, to 61.8 percent in the fourth quarter. The numbers of unemployed on temporary layoff and those unemployed for 27 weeks or longer decreased over the year, but both measures are still above their prepandemic levels. The number of people working part time for economic reasons returned to its prepandemic level, and the number of self-employed increased by 7.8 percent in 2021.

The recession induced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in steep job losses, pushed the unemployment rate to a high of 13.0 percent in the second quarter of 2020, and caused many people to leave the labor force.¹ By the end of 2021, even after substantial strides were made in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor market still had not fully recovered.² The jobless rate continued to trend downward, and by the fourth quarter of 2021, it was 4.2 percent, 2.6 percentage points below the rate from the prior year.³ The number of unemployed, at 6.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, decreased by 4.1 million over the year.⁴

Total employment, as measured by the Current Population Survey (CPS), rose by 5.4 million over the year, to 155.2 million, which was well below its prepandemic level of 158.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.⁵ The employment–population ratio increased by 1.8 percentage points, to 59.2 percent. The labor force participation rate (the percentage of the population ages 16 years and older who are either employed or actively seeking employment) rose by 0.3 percentage point over the year, to 61.8 percent.

This article highlights a broad range of economic indicators from the CPS to provide a picture of labor market performance in 2021, both overall and for various demographic groups. The article also summarizes the number of people who, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworked, were unable to work or worked reduced hours, or were prevented from looking for work. These data were collected through supplemental questions that were added to the CPS in the early stages of the pandemic. This article also provides 2021 updates on the trends in usual weekly earnings, labor force status flows, and the number of self-employed people and summarizes recent changes in the employment situations of veterans, people with a disability, and the foreign born.

Both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate declined for all major demographic groups, but both measures remained above their prepandemic levels

The number of unemployed people was 6.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 4.1 million from a year earlier. Despite the large decline in 2021, however, the total number of unemployed was still 908,000 more than it was in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic began. The unemployment rate also declined in 2021. (See table 1.) The unemployment rate averaged 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, which is 2.6 percentage points below the rate in the fourth quarter of 2020. Even with this improvement, the unemployment rate remained above the rate of 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See chart 1.)

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Total, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	160,681	160,391	160,964	161,451	162,010	1,329
Participation rate	61.5	61.5	61.6	61.7	61.8	0.3
Employed	149,788	150,437	151,474	153,226	155,178	5,390
Employment–population ratio	57.4	57.7	58.0	58.6	59.2	1.8
Unemployed	10,894	9,954	9,491	8,225	6,832	-4,062
Unemployment rate	6.8	6.2	5.9	5.1	4.2	-2.6
Men, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	85,285	85,108	85,389	85,654	85,870	585
Participation rate	67.5	67.4	67.6	67.7	67.7	0.2
Employed	79,391	79,738	80,188	81,128	82,258	2,867
Employment–population ratio	62.9	63.2	63.5	64.1	64.9	2.0
Unemployed	5,894	5,370	5,200	4,526	3,611	-2,283
Unemployment rate	6.9	6.3	6.1	5.3	4.2	-2.7
Women, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	75,396	75,283	75,575	75,796	76,140	744
Participation rate	55.9	55.9	56.0	56.1	56.3	0.4
Employed	70,397	70,698	71,285	72,098	72,919	2,522
Employment–population ratio	52.2	52.5	52.9	53.4	53.9	1.7
Unemployed	4,999	4,585	4,290	3,699	3,221	-1,778
Unemployment rate	6.6	6.1	5.7	4.9	4.2	-2.4
White
Civilian labor force	124,316	123,832	123,938	124,235	124,579	263
Participation rate	61.6	61.4	61.4	61.5	61.6	0.0
Employed	116,835	116,982	117,487	118,624	120,070	3,235
Employment–population ratio	57.9	58.0	58.2	58.7	59.4	1.5
Unemployed	7,481	6,850	6,451	5,611	4,509	-2,972
Unemployment rate	6.0	5.5	5.2	4.5	3.6	-2.4
Black or African American
Civilian labor force	20,149	20,232	20,568	20,579	20,516	367
Participation rate	60.2	60.4	61.3	61.2	60.8	0.6
Employed	18,043	18,311	18,646	18,887	19,054	1,011
Employment–population ratio	53.9	54.6	55.5	56.1	56.5	2.6
Unemployed	2,106	1,920	1,921	1,692	1,462	-644
Unemployment rate	10.5	9.5	9.3	8.2	7.1	-3.4
Asian
Civilian labor force	10,345	10,353	10,423	10,638	10,763	418
Participation rate	62.5	62.7	63.2	64.3	65.1	2.6
Employed	9,638	9,747	9,836	10,147	10,333	695
Employment–population ratio	58.2	59.0	59.6	61.4	62.5	4.3
Unemployed	707	607	587	491	430	-277
Unemployment rate	6.8	5.9	5.6	4.6	4.0	-2.8
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian labor force	29,155	29,087	29,207	29,511	29,842	687
Participation rate	65.4	65.2	65.2	65.6	66.0	0.6
Employed	26,541	26,704	27,061	27,672	28,274	1,733
Employment–population ratio	59.6	59.9	60.4	61.5	62.5	2.9
Unemployed	2,613	2,383	2,146	1,839	1,568	-1,045
Unemployment rate	9.0	8.2	7.3	6.2	5.3	-3.7
Note: Estimates for the race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Unemployment rate for people 16 years and older, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1968–2021 (in percent)
Quarter	Unemployment rate
Q1 1968	3.7
Q2 1968	3.5
Q3 1968	3.5
Q4 1968	3.4
Q1 1969	3.4
Q2 1969	3.4
Q3 1969	3.6
Q4 1969	3.6
Q1 1970	4.2
Q2 1970	4.8
Q3 1970	5.2
Q4 1970	5.8
Q1 1971	5.9
Q2 1971	5.9
Q3 1971	6.0
Q4 1971	6.0
Q1 1972	5.8
Q2 1972	5.7
Q3 1972	5.6
Q4 1972	5.3
Q1 1973	5.0
Q2 1973	4.9
Q3 1973	4.8
Q4 1973	4.8
Q1 1974	5.1
Q2 1974	5.2
Q3 1974	5.6
Q4 1974	6.6
Q1 1975	8.2
Q2 1975	8.9
Q3 1975	8.5
Q4 1975	8.3
Q1 1976	7.7
Q2 1976	7.6
Q3 1976	7.7
Q4 1976	7.8
Q1 1977	7.5
Q2 1977	7.1
Q3 1977	6.9
Q4 1977	6.6
Q1 1978	6.3
Q2 1978	6.0
Q3 1978	6.0
Q4 1978	5.9
Q1 1979	5.9
Q2 1979	5.7
Q3 1979	5.9
Q4 1979	5.9
Q1 1980	6.3
Q2 1980	7.3
Q3 1980	7.7
Q4 1980	7.4
Q1 1981	7.4
Q2 1981	7.4
Q3 1981	7.4
Q4 1981	8.2
Q1 1982	8.8
Q2 1982	9.4
Q3 1982	9.9
Q4 1982	10.7
Q1 1983	10.4
Q2 1983	10.1
Q3 1983	9.4
Q4 1983	8.5
Q1 1984	7.9
Q2 1984	7.5
Q3 1984	7.4
Q4 1984	7.3
Q1 1985	7.3
Q2 1985	7.3
Q3 1985	7.2
Q4 1985	7.0
Q1 1986	7.0
Q2 1986	7.2
Q3 1986	7.0
Q4 1986	6.8
Q1 1987	6.6
Q2 1987	6.3
Q3 1987	6.0
Q4 1987	5.9
Q1 1988	5.7
Q2 1988	5.5
Q3 1988	5.5
Q4 1988	5.3
Q1 1989	5.2
Q2 1989	5.2
Q3 1989	5.3
Q4 1989	5.4
Q1 1990	5.3
Q2 1990	5.3
Q3 1990	5.7
Q4 1990	6.1
Q1 1991	6.6
Q2 1991	6.8
Q3 1991	6.9
Q4 1991	7.1
Q1 1992	7.4
Q2 1992	7.6
Q3 1992	7.6
Q4 1992	7.4
Q1 1993	7.2
Q2 1993	7.1
Q3 1993	6.8
Q4 1993	6.6
Q1 1994	6.6
Q2 1994	6.2
Q3 1994	6.0
Q4 1994	5.6
Q1 1995	5.5
Q2 1995	5.7
Q3 1995	5.7
Q4 1995	5.6
Q1 1996	5.5
Q2 1996	5.5
Q3 1996	5.3
Q4 1996	5.3
Q1 1997	5.2
Q2 1997	5.0
Q3 1997	4.9
Q4 1997	4.7
Q1 1998	4.6
Q2 1998	4.4
Q3 1998	4.5
Q4 1998	4.4
Q1 1999	4.3
Q2 1999	4.3
Q3 1999	4.2
Q4 1999	4.1
Q1 2000	4.0
Q2 2000	3.9
Q3 2000	4.0
Q4 2000	3.9
Q1 2001	4.2
Q2 2001	4.4
Q3 2001	4.8
Q4 2001	5.5
Q1 2002	5.7
Q2 2002	5.8
Q3 2002	5.7
Q4 2002	5.8
Q1 2003	5.9
Q2 2003	6.2
Q3 2003	6.1
Q4 2003	5.8
Q1 2004	5.7
Q2 2004	5.6
Q3 2004	5.4
Q4 2004	5.4
Q1 2005	5.3
Q2 2005	5.1
Q3 2005	5.0
Q4 2005	5.0
Q1 2006	4.7
Q2 2006	4.7
Q3 2006	4.6
Q4 2006	4.5
Q1 2007	4.5
Q2 2007	4.5
Q3 2007	4.7
Q4 2007	4.8
Q1 2008	5.0
Q2 2008	5.3
Q3 2008	6.0
Q4 2008	6.9
Q1 2009	8.3
Q2 2009	9.3
Q3 2009	9.6
Q4 2009	9.9
Q1 2010	9.8
Q2 2010	9.7
Q3 2010	9.5
Q4 2010	9.5
Q1 2011	9.0
Q2 2011	9.1
Q3 2011	9.0
Q4 2011	8.7
Q1 2012	8.3
Q2 2012	8.2
Q3 2012	8.0
Q4 2012	7.8
Q1 2013	7.7
Q2 2013	7.5
Q3 2013	7.3
Q4 2013	7.0
Q1 2014	6.6
Q2 2014	6.2
Q3 2014	6.1
Q4 2014	5.7
Q1 2015	5.5
Q2 2015	5.4
Q3 2015	5.1
Q4 2015	5.0
Q1 2016	4.9
Q2 2016	4.9
Q3 2016	4.9
Q4 2016	4.8
Q1 2017	4.6
Q2 2017	4.4
Q3 2017	4.3
Q4 2017	4.2
Q1 2018	4.0
Q2 2018	3.9
Q3 2018	3.8
Q4 2018	3.8
Q1 2019	3.8
Q2 2019	3.6
Q3 2019	3.6
Q4 2019	3.6
Q1 2020	3.8
Q2 2020	13.0
Q3 2020	8.8
Q4 2020	6.8
Q1 2021	6.2
Q2 2021	5.9
Q3 2021	5.1
Q4 2021	4.2
Note: Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Unemployment declined among both men and women in 2021. The jobless rate for men fell by 2.7 percentage points over the year, to 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter, and by 2.4 percentage points for women, to 4.2 percent. Although the unemployment rates for men and women declined in 2021, they remained above their prepandemic levels, when the rates for both men and women were 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See table 1.)

Unemployment rates declined over the year for all demographic groups

The unemployment rates for all race and ethnicity groups declined in 2021, with the rate for Hispanics showing the largest over-the-year decrease. The jobless rate for Hispanics fell by 3.7 percentage points, to 5.3 percent, and the rate for Blacks fell by 3.4 percentage points, to 7.1 percent. The jobless rate for Asians declined by 2.8 percentage points, to 4.0 percent, and the rate for Whites fell by 2.4 percentage points, to 3.6 percent. Even with these improvements, the unemployment rates for Blacks and Hispanics remained considerably higher than the rates for Asians and Whites. Despite substantial improvements in 2021, particularly in the second half of the year, they were not enough to make up for the steep increases that occurred in the second quarter of 2020, when the rates for Whites, Asians, and Hispanics reached historic highs. (See chart 2.)

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Unemployment rates, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2021 (in percent)
Quarter	Whites	Blacks	Asians	Hispanics
Q1 1994	5.7	12.8	^[1]	10.2
Q2 1994	5.4	11.6	^[1]	10.3
Q3 1994	5.2	10.9	^[1]	10.0
Q4 1994	4.9	10.7	^[1]	9.2
Q1 1995	4.8	10.0	^[1]	9.4
Q2 1995	5.0	10.5	^[1]	9.3
Q3 1995	4.9	11.0	^[1]	9.2
Q4 1995	4.9	9.9	^[1]	9.4
Q1 1996	4.8	10.4	^[1]	9.6
Q2 1996	4.8	10.5	^[1]	9.3
Q3 1996	4.5	10.6	^[1]	8.6
Q4 1996	4.6	10.6	^[1]	8.0
Q1 1997	4.5	10.7	^[1]	8.3
Q2 1997	4.2	10.4	^[1]	7.8
Q3 1997	4.2	9.5	^[1]	7.5
Q4 1997	4.0	9.7	^[1]	7.3
Q1 1998	4.0	9.3	^[1]	7.0
Q2 1998	3.8	8.9	^[1]	7.0
Q3 1998	3.9	9.1	^[1]	7.3
Q4 1998	3.9	8.3	^[1]	7.3
Q1 1999	3.7	8.0	^[1]	6.4
Q2 1999	3.8	7.6	^[1]	6.8
Q3 1999	3.7	8.3	^[1]	6.6
Q4 1999	3.5	8.1	^[1]	6.1
Q1 2000	3.5	7.9	3.8	5.8
Q2 2000	3.4	7.5	3.8	5.7
Q3 2000	3.5	7.6	3.7	5.9
Q4 2000	3.4	7.3	3.1	5.6
Q1 2001	3.7	8.1	3.4	6.0
Q2 2001	3.9	8.1	3.9	6.4
Q3 2001	4.2	8.7	5.2	6.5
Q4 2001	4.9	9.8	5.3	7.4
Q1 2002	5.0	10.1	5.6	7.4
Q2 2002	5.1	10.5	6.2	7.5
Q3 2002	5.1	9.8	6.0	7.4
Q4 2002	5.1	10.6	5.7	7.9
Q1 2003	5.1	10.5	6.0	7.8
Q2 2003	5.4	11.1	6.2	8.0
Q3 2003	5.4	11.0	6.1	7.7
Q4 2003	5.1	10.6	5.6	7.2
Q1 2004	5.0	10.1	4.7	7.4
Q2 2004	5.0	10.0	4.5	6.9
Q3 2004	4.7	10.6	4.1	6.8
Q4 2004	4.6	10.7	4.4	6.7
Q1 2005	4.5	10.6	4.2	6.1
Q2 2005	4.4	10.2	3.9	6.0
Q3 2005	4.3	9.4	4.3	5.9
Q4 2005	4.3	9.7	3.5	6.1
Q1 2006	4.1	9.3	3.3	5.4
Q2 2006	4.1	9.0	3.4	5.2
Q3 2006	4.0	9.1	2.8	5.3
Q4 2006	3.9	8.4	2.8	5.0
Q1 2007	4.0	8.1	3.0	5.2
Q2 2007	4.0	8.3	3.1	5.7
Q3 2007	4.2	7.9	3.2	5.7
Q4 2007	4.3	8.7	3.7	6.0
Q1 2008	4.4	8.9	3.3	6.4
Q2 2008	4.7	9.2	3.9	7.2
Q3 2008	5.3	10.6	4.1	7.9
Q4 2008	6.3	11.7	4.6	9.0
Q1 2009	7.6	13.4	6.5	11.0
Q2 2009	8.5	14.9	7.2	11.9
Q3 2009	8.8	15.0	7.7	12.7
Q4 2009	9.1	15.9	7.7	12.7
Q1 2010	8.9	16.5	8.0	12.8
Q2 2010	8.8	15.8	7.4	12.3
Q3 2010	8.6	15.9	7.3	12.2
Q4 2010	8.7	15.8	7.3	12.7
Q1 2011	8.1	15.7	6.9	11.9
Q2 2011	8.0	16.3	6.8	11.7
Q3 2011	7.9	16.1	7.5	11.2
Q4 2011	7.7	15.2	6.9	11.2
Q1 2012	7.4	13.9	6.4	10.7
Q2 2012	7.4	13.8	5.6	10.7
Q3 2012	7.2	13.9	5.6	10.0
Q4 2012	6.9	13.8	6.0	9.8
Q1 2013	6.9	13.5	5.8	9.6
Q2 2013	6.7	13.6	4.8	9.0
Q3 2013	6.4	12.8	5.3	9.1
Q4 2013	6.1	12.4	5.0	8.7
Q1 2014	5.7	12.0	5.4	8.1
Q2 2014	5.3	11.3	5.4	7.6
Q3 2014	5.2	11.3	4.4	7.3
Q4 2014	4.9	10.7	4.7	6.6
Q1 2015	4.8	10.1	3.7	6.7
Q2 2015	4.7	9.9	4.1	6.8
Q3 2015	4.4	9.3	3.6	6.6
Q4 2015	4.4	9.0	3.9	6.3
Q1 2016	4.2	8.7	3.8	5.7
Q2 2016	4.3	8.5	3.8	5.9
Q3 2016	4.3	8.2	3.9	5.8
Q4 2016	4.3	8.3	3.1	5.7
Q1 2017	4.0	7.8	3.4	5.4
Q2 2017	3.8	7.4	3.5	5.1
Q3 2017	3.8	7.4	3.7	5.1
Q4 2017	3.6	7.3	2.9	5.0
Q1 2018	3.5	7.0	3.0	4.9
Q2 2018	3.5	6.2	2.8	4.7
Q3 2018	3.4	6.3	3.1	4.6
Q4 2018	3.4	6.4	3.1	4.5
Q1 2019	3.3	6.8	3.0	4.5
Q2 2019	3.2	6.1	2.3	4.2
Q3 2019	3.3	5.5	2.7	4.2
Q4 2019	3.2	5.7	2.8	4.2
Q1 2020	3.3	6.4	3.2	4.9
Q2 2020	12.1	16.2	14.3	17.0
Q3 2020	7.9	13.1	10.5	11.3
Q4 2020	6.0	10.5	6.8	9.0
Q1 2021	5.5	9.5	5.9	8.2
Q2 2021	5.2	9.3	5.6	7.3
Q3 2021	4.5	8.2	4.6	6.2
Q4 2021	3.6	7.1	4.0	5.3
^[1] Data for Asians are not available before 2000 and are not seasonally adjusted before 2010. Note: People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Jobless rates for younger workers declined more than the rates for older workers

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds decreased by 3.6 percentage points over the year, to 8.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Within this age group, the jobless rate for teenagers (ages 16 to 19) fell by 3.3 percentage points over the year, to 11.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. The rate for teenagers was well below its high of 28.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020 and lower than it had been before the pandemic (12.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019). The jobless rate for people ages 20 to 24 declined by 3.8 percentage points in 2021, to 7.2 percent, down from its high of 22.6 percent in the second quarter of 2020 but slightly above its prepandemic rate. Although unemployment rates rose sharply at the onset of the pandemic for all age groups, the increase was greatest among younger workers. A reverse pattern occurred in 2021, when younger workers experienced larger decreases in their jobless rates than did older workers. (See table 2.)

After hitting double digits (11.3 percent) in the second quarter of 2020, the unemployment rate for people in the prime working ages of 25 to 54 averaged 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. This represents a decline of 2.4 percentage points over the year. The unemployment rates for both men and women of prime working age declined over the year, although these measures are still above the rates seen in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by age and gender, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Total, 16 to 24 years
Civilian labor force	20,704	20,615	20,672	20,605	20,847	143
Participation rate	55.3	55.2	55.5	55.3	56.0	0.7
Employed	18,218	18,336	18,578	18,675	19,103	885
Employment–population ratio	48.6	49.1	49.8	50.1	51.3	2.7
Unemployed	2,486	2,278	2,093	1,930	1,743	-743
Unemployment rate	12.0	11.1	10.1	9.4	8.4	-3.6
Total, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	5,942	5,948	5,991	5,948	5,966	24
Participation rate	35.9	36.1	36.4	36.2	36.3	0.4
Employed	5,080	5,131	5,342	5,286	5,300	220
Employment–population ratio	30.7	31.2	32.5	32.1	32.2	1.5
Unemployed	862	817	649	662	667	-195
Unemployment rate	14.5	13.7	10.8	11.1	11.2	-3.3
Total, 20 to 24 years
Civilian labor force	14,761	14,667	14,681	14,657	14,881	120
Participation rate	70.5	70.3	70.5	70.5	71.7	1.2
Employed	13,137	13,205	13,236	13,389	13,804	667
Employment–population ratio	62.8	63.3	63.5	64.4	66.5	3.7
Unemployed	1,624	1,462	1,445	1,268	1,077	-547
Unemployment rate	11.0	10.0	9.8	8.7	7.2	-3.8
Total, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	102,211	102,366	102,751	103,110	103,217	1,006
Participation rate	81.0	81.2	81.5	81.8	81.8	0.8
Employed	95,924	96,597	97,230	98,326	99,310	3,386
Employment–population ratio	76.1	76.6	77.1	78.0	78.7	2.6
Unemployed	6,286	5,769	5,522	4,784	3,907	-2,379
Unemployment rate	6.2	5.6	5.4	4.6	3.8	-2.4
Men, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	54,506	54,544	54,781	54,988	54,933	427
Participation rate	87.5	87.6	88.0	88.3	88.1	0.6
Employed	51,090	51,482	51,745	52,353	52,868	1,778
Employment–population ratio	82.0	82.7	83.1	84.0	84.8	2.8
Unemployed	3,416	3,062	3,036	2,634	2,065	-1,351
Unemployment rate	6.3	5.6	5.5	4.8	3.8	-2.5
Women, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	47,704	47,822	47,970	48,122	48,285	581
Participation rate	74.7	75.0	75.2	75.4	75.7	1.0
Employed	44,834	45,115	45,485	45,973	46,442	1,608
Employment–population ratio	70.2	70.7	71.3	72.1	72.8	2.6
Unemployed	2,870	2,707	2,485	2,149	1,842	-1,028
Unemployment rate	6.0	5.7	5.2	4.5	3.8	-2.2
Total, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	37,737	37,323	37,544	37,816	37,914	177
Participation rate	38.7	38.3	38.4	38.5	38.4	-0.3
Employed	35,545	35,438	35,713	36,333	36,674	1,129
Employment–population ratio	36.5	36.3	36.5	37.0	37.2	0.7
Unemployed	2,192	1,885	1,831	1,483	1,240	-952
Unemployment rate	5.8	5.1	4.9	3.9	3.3	-2.5
Men, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	20,165	19,977	20,072	20,218	20,221	56
Participation rate	44.6	44.2	44.2	44.4	44.2	-0.4
Employed	19,027	18,939	19,093	19,415	19,605	578
Employment–population ratio	42.1	41.9	42.1	42.6	42.8	0.7
Unemployed	1,138	1,038	979	804	617	-521
Unemployment rate	5.6	5.2	4.9	4.0	3.0	-2.6
Women, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	17,560	17,365	17,486	17,580	17,678	118
Participation rate	33.6	33.2	33.3	33.4	33.4	-0.2
Employed	16,518	16,499	16,620	16,918	17,069	551
Employment–population ratio	31.6	31.5	31.7	32.1	32.3	0.7
Unemployed	1,042	866	866	662	609	-433
Unemployment rate	5.9	5.0	5.0	3.8	3.4	-2.5
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Among workers ages 55 years and older, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, down by 2.5 percentage points over the year. The jobless rates for men and women in this age group had similar over-the-year declines: 2.6 percentage points for men and 2.5 percentage points for women. The rates for both groups remained above the levels seen in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Jobless rates declined for people of all education levels

Among workers ages 25 years and older, jobless rates across all education levels declined in 2021, although they remained higher than they were in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. The unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma declined by 3.7 percentage points in 2021, to 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter, the steepest drop among the educational attainment categories. Still, the jobless rate for this group remained 0.5 percentage point higher than its rate in the fourth quarter of 2019, when it was 5.5 percent. The rate for high school graduates with no college fell by 3.0 percentage points over the year, to 5.0 percent by the end of 2021. The jobless rate for people with some college or an associate’s degree, at 3.9 percent, decreased by 2.6 percentage points over the year. The jobless rate for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher, at 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, was 1.9 percentage points lower than it was a year earlier and 0.2 percentage point higher than it was in the fourth quarter of 2019. The rates for both those with less than a high school diploma and those with a bachelor’s degree and higher have nearly returned to their prepandemic levels. As in the past, jobless rates in 2021 were much lower for people with higher levels of education than for those with less education. (See chart 3 and table 3.)

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Unemployment rates for people 25 years and older, by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted, fourth quarter 2019–21
Education level	4th quarter 2019	4th quarter 2020	4th quarter 2021
Total	2.9	6.0	3.6
Less than a high school diploma	5.5	9.7	6.0
High school graduates, no college^[1]	3.7	8.0	5.0
Some college or associate’s degree	2.9	6.5	3.9
Bachelor’s degree and higher^[2]	2.0	4.1	2.2
^[1] This category includes people with a high school diploma or equivalent. ^[2] This category includes people with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Table 3. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and older, by educational attainment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian labor force	9,208	9,026	8,970	9,188	8,843	-365
Participation rate	45.6	45.1	43.6	46.0	45.5	-0.1
Employed	8,316	8,205	8,114	8,426	8,309	-7
Employment–population ratio	41.2	41.0	39.5	42.1	42.7	1.5
Unemployed	893	822	857	763	534	-359
Unemployment rate	9.7	9.1	9.6	8.3	6.0	-3.7
High school graduates, no college^[1]
Civilian labor force	35,156	34,360	34,926	35,143	35,518	362
Participation rate	55.5	54.8	55.7	55.4	55.5	0.0
Employed	32,338	31,970	32,511	33,061	33,733	1,395
Employment–population ratio	51.0	51.0	51.8	52.1	52.7	1.7
Unemployed	2,818	2,390	2,415	2,082	1,786	-1,032
Unemployment rate	8.0	7.0	6.9	5.9	5.0	-3.0
Some college or associate’s degree
Civilian labor force	35,770	35,587	35,892	35,805	35,430	-340
Participation rate	62.5	62.8	63.3	63.1	62.7	0.2
Employed	33,430	33,469	33,783	34,107	34,057	627
Employment–population ratio	58.5	59.1	59.5	60.1	60.3	1.8
Unemployed	2,341	2,118	2,110	1,699	1,372	-969
Unemployment rate	6.5	6.0	5.9	4.7	3.9	-2.6
Bachelor’s degree and higher^[2]
Civilian labor force	59,702	60,690	60,641	60,835	61,134	1,432
Participation rate	72.0	72.0	72.3	72.3	72.1	0.1
Employed	57,265	58,353	58,603	59,141	59,758	2,493
Employment–population ratio	69.1	69.3	69.9	70.2	70.4	1.3
Unemployed	2,437	2,337	2,038	1,694	1,375	-1,062
Unemployment rate	4.1	3.9	3.4	2.8	2.2	-1.9
^[1] This category includes people with a high school diploma or equivalent. ^[2] This category includes people with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees. Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

About 1 in 3 unemployed people had been jobless for 27 weeks or longer

As unemployment surged following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the number of people who were newly unemployed—that is, those unemployed for less than 5 weeks—but that number began to decrease as people either returned to work, stopped looking, or moved into the longer duration categories.⁶ In 2021, the number of short-term unemployed decreased by 615,000, or 23.5 percent, to 2.0 million in the fourth quarter. This group accounted for 29.5 percent of the total number of unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See table 4.)

Table 4. Unemployed people, by reason and duration of unemployment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Characteristics	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Reason for unemployment
Job losers and people who completed temporary jobs	7,517	6,611	5,940	4,450	3,388	-4,129
On temporary layoff	3,040	2,351	1,903	1,167	909	-2,131
Not on temporary layoff	4,477	4,260	4,037	3,283	2,478	-1,999
Permanent job losers	3,600	3,471	3,262	2,553	1,903	-1,697
People who completed temporary jobs	877	789	775	730	575	-302
Job leavers	736	709	849	850	802	66
Reentrants	2,088	2,128	2,197	2,336	2,133	45
New entrants	532	541	540	491	501	-31
Percent distribution
Job losers and people who completed temporary jobs	69.1	66.2	62.4	54.8	49.7	-19.4
On temporary layoff	28.0	23.5	20.0	14.4	13.3	-14.7
Not on temporary layoff	41.2	42.6	42.4	40.4	36.3	-4.9
Job leavers	6.8	7.1	8.9	10.5	11.8	5.0
Reentrants	19.2	21.3	23.1	28.8	31.3	12.1
New entrants	4.9	5.4	5.7	6.0	7.3	2.4
Duration of unemployment
Less than 5 weeks	2,619	2,248	2,115	2,194	2,004	-615
5 to 14 weeks	2,375	2,230	2,127	1,816	1,717	-658
15 weeks or longer	5,854	5,498	5,218	4,226	3,064	-2,790
15 to 26 weeks	2,030	1,364	1,243	1,166	884	-1,146
27 weeks or longer	3,824	4,134	3,975	3,060	2,180	-1,644
Average (mean) duration in weeks	23.1	27.8	29.8	29.0	28.2	5.1
Median duration, in weeks	18.9	17.7	19.4	14.1	13.1	-5.8
Percent distribution
Less than 5 weeks	24.1	22.5	22.4	26.6	29.5	5.4
5 to 14 weeks	21.9	22.4	22.5	22.0	25.3	3.4
15 weeks or longer	54.0	55.1	55.2	51.3	45.2	-8.8
15 to 26 weeks	18.7	13.7	13.1	14.2	13.0	-5.7
27 weeks or longer	35.2	41.4	42.0	37.2	32.1	-3.1
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The number of long-term unemployed (people who were jobless for 27 weeks or longer) had been declining for about a decade prior to the onset of the pandemic. This measure rose to 4.1 million in the first quarter of 2021 but declined to 2.2 million by the end of the year. The number of long-term unemployed declined by 43.0 percent over the year. This group accounted for 32.1 percent of the total unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from 35.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.⁷ Both measures, the number of long-term unemployed and their share of total unemployment, remained well above the levels seen before the pandemic.⁸ (See chart 4.)

View Chart Data

Chart 4. Long-term unemployed as a percentage of total unemployed, quarterly averages, 2005–21 (in percent)
Quarter	27 weeks or longer	52 weeks or longer
Q1 2005	21.1	12.3
Q2 2005	19.9	12.2
Q3 2005	18.9	11.1
Q4 2005	18.5	11.3
Q1 2006	18.0	10.0
Q2 2006	18.0	10.1
Q3 2006	18.2	10.2
Q4 2006	16.2	9.7
Q1 2007	17.6	9.9
Q2 2007	16.8	9.5
Q3 2007	17.8	9.9
Q4 2007	18.0	10.4
Q1 2008	17.7	9.5
Q2 2008	18.1	9.8
Q3 2008	20.0	10.2
Q4 2008	22.2	12.7
Q1 2009	23.4	11.8
Q2 2009	27.7	14.2
Q3 2009	35.0	16.8
Q4 2009	38.7	21.9
Q1 2010	41.8	24.7
Q2 2010	45.1	30.9
Q3 2010	43.3	29.8
Q4 2010	43.2	31.0
Q1 2011	43.7	30.4
Q2 2011	44.1	31.9
Q3 2011	44.6	31.8
Q4 2011	42.8	31.4
Q1 2012	41.7	29.5
Q2 2012	42.0	30.1
Q3 2012	40.7	28.3
Q4 2012	39.9	29.2
Q1 2013	38.6	25.4
Q2 2013	37.4	26.5
Q3 2013	37.7	25.7
Q4 2013	36.9	26.2
Q1 2014	35.8	24.3
Q2 2014	34.4	23.6
Q3 2014	31.8	21.5
Q4 2014	31.6	22.6
Q1 2015	30.7	19.9
Q2 2015	28.1	19.5
Q3 2015	26.6	16.5
Q4 2015	26.4	18.5
Q1 2016	27.6	17.9
Q2 2016	26.0	17.2
Q3 2016	25.0	16.4
Q4 2016	24.7	16.8
Q1 2017	24.2	14.6
Q2 2017	24.5	14.8
Q3 2017	24.5	15.4
Q4 2017	23.6	15.7
Q1 2018	21.4	13.8
Q2 2018	21.3	12.4
Q3 2018	21.7	13.6
Q4 2018	21.0	13.7
Q1 2019	20.5	12.6
Q2 2019	22.9	13.7
Q3 2019	20.3	11.8
Q4 2019	20.7	12.8
Q1 2020	18.4	11.0
Q2 2020	5.8	2.7
Q3 2020	12.8	5.8
Q4 2020	35.2	7.6
Q1 2021	41.4	14.6
Q2 2021	42.0	29.3
Q3 2021	37.2	26.9
Q4 2021	32.1	23.3
Note: Data for 27 weeks or longer are seasonally adjusted, and data for 52 weeks or longer are not seasonally adjusted. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

After reaching a record high of 4.5 million (not seasonally adjusted) in the second quarter of 2010, the number of people unemployed for a year or longer (those jobless for 52 weeks or more) declined for nearly a decade. At the time of the surge in unemployment in the second quarter of 2020, the number of people unemployed for 52 weeks or longer, at 556,000, was the lowest level it had been since 2003. The initial surge in unemployment continued to move through the longer duration categories for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. Those unemployed for 52 weeks or more rose to 2.7 million in the second quarter of 2021, before declining to 1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Their share of total unemployment spiked to 29.3 percent in the second quarter of 2021, before falling to 23.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Number of people unemployed because they lost their job continued to decline

Unemployed people are grouped by their reasons for unemployment. People are unemployed because they either (1) were on temporary layoff, permanently lost their job, or completed a temporary job (referred to as job losers); (2) voluntarily left their job (job leavers); (3) reentered the labor force (reentrants); or (4) entered the labor force for the first time (new entrants).

The number of job losers and those who completed temporary jobs rose to an unprecedented level during the COVID-19 pandemic, to 17.7 million in the second quarter of 2020. (This was the highest quarterly average in the history of the data series, which began in 1967.) This number declined during the remainder of 2020 and through 2021. The number of job losers averaged 3.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Virtually all of the increase in the number of job losers in the second quarter of 2020 consisted of people on temporary layoff.⁹ However, the composition of unemployed job losers shifted to people not on temporary layoff in 2021. The number of unemployed people not on temporary layoff, which is made up mostly of permanent job losers, was 2.5 million at the end of 2021, accounting for 36.3 percent of the total unemployed. This represented an increase of 21.5 percentage points from the second quarter of 2020.

Among those unemployed who were not on temporary layoff, the number of people who permanently lost their jobs, at 1.9 million, decreased by 1.7 million over the year, but the number remained above its prepandemic level. (See table 4 and chart 5.)

View Chart Data

Chart 5. Unemployed people, by reasons for unemployment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2021 (in thousands)
Quarter	Job losers on temporary layoff	Job losers not on temporary layoff	Job Leavers	Reentrants	New entrants
Q1 1994	1,061	3,134	840	2,928	627
Q2 1994	893	2,823	804	2,939	603
Q3 1994	973	2,750	797	2,706	611
Q4 1994	924	2,611	721	2,574	582
Q1 1995	1,015	2,416	767	2,465	572
Q2 1995	1,041	2,453	855	2,597	584
Q3 1995	1,033	2,436	845	2,564	592
Q4 1995	1,035	2,485	833	2,485	573
Q1 1996	1,062	2,469	787	2,465	586
Q2 1996	1,078	2,429	705	2,564	571
Q3 1996	950	2,241	758	2,506	580
Q4 1996	968	2,244	846	2,524	583
Q1 1997	976	2,213	814	2,502	607
Q2 1997	949	2,101	795	2,380	570
Q3 1997	849	2,085	847	2,253	563
Q4 1997	922	2,019	714	2,212	534
Q1 1998	902	1,981	773	2,201	536
Q2 1998	792	1,978	699	2,081	528
Q3 1998	902	1,921	754	2,143	488
Q4 1998	856	1,954	708	2,105	523
Q1 1999	861	1,826	746	2,031	497
Q2 1999	844	1,819	807	2,010	440
Q3 1999	864	1,759	785	1,991	477
Q4 1999	818	1,678	799	1,989	468
Q1 2000	806	1,762	785	2,006	414
Q2 2000	850	1,549	766	2,005	433
Q3 2000	882	1,666	795	1,917	449
Q4 2000	896	1,634	771	1,907	437
Q1 2001	999	1,920	823	1,935	406
Q2 2001	1,044	2,141	794	1,884	464
Q3 2001	1,079	2,412	843	2,094	469
Q4 2001	1,212	3,207	880	2,240	497
Q1 2002	1,128	3,332	887	2,350	510
Q2 2002	1,115	3,522	906	2,392	524
Q3 2002	1,133	3,448	826	2,329	564
Q4 2002	1,101	3,638	851	2,399	535
Q1 2003	1,125	3,628	809	2,405	604
Q2 2003	1,179	3,786	823	2,588	642
Q3 2003	1,123	3,846	804	2,476	669
Q4 2003	1,073	3,597	837	2,415	641
Q1 2004	1,034	3,373	834	2,466	657
Q2 2004	981	3,229	864	2,454	673
Q3 2004	995	3,086	862	2,351	701
Q4 2004	950	3,102	875	2,339	712
Q1 2005	958	2,943	883	2,378	695
Q2 2005	894	2,736	899	2,376	708
Q3 2005	957	2,637	836	2,396	621
Q4 2005	919	2,593	871	2,383	648
Q1 2006	889	2,483	842	2,251	655
Q2 2006	942	2,507	848	2,157	585
Q3 2006	905	2,371	831	2,311	632
Q4 2006	967	2,247	784	2,221	583
Q1 2007	971	2,352	800	2,146	612
Q2 2007	949	2,417	773	2,143	596
Q3 2007	969	2,661	819	2,090	619
Q4 2007	1,002	2,752	777	2,195	684
Q1 2008	1,044	2,910	805	2,151	679
Q2 2008	1,091	3,146	858	2,381	736
Q3 2008	1,222	3,691	965	2,639	824
Q4 2008	1,417	4,779	949	2,714	795
Q1 2009	1,543	6,480	873	2,924	882
Q2 2009	1,731	7,572	864	3,213	956
Q3 2009	1,754	7,933	871	3,268	1,081
Q4 2009	1,563	8,194	921	3,339	1,224
Q1 2010	1,569	7,935	894	3,570	1,178
Q2 2010	1,404	7,826	930	3,486	1,188
Q3 2010	1,325	7,764	859	3,383	1,235
Q4 2010	1,363	7,706	878	3,435	1,286
Q1 2011	1,259	7,130	897	3,341	1,306
Q2 2011	1,240	6,999	945	3,436	1,258
Q3 2011	1,188	6,863	964	3,458	1,304
Q4 2011	1,222	6,477	1,016	3,362	1,282
Q1 2012	1,197	5,949	1,025	3,291	1,338
Q2 2012	1,165	5,814	945	3,357	1,353
Q3 2012	1,235	5,590	920	3,342	1,273
Q4 2012	1,100	5,411	981	3,403	1,309
Q1 2013	1,133	5,313	974	3,300	1,273
Q2 2013	1,118	5,065	953	3,292	1,274
Q3 2013	1,098	4,768	942	3,185	1,252
Q4 2013	1,228	4,581	859	3,036	1,191
Q1 2014	1,026	4,359	808	2,929	1,181
Q2 2014	1,031	3,970	845	2,758	1,062
Q3 2014	1,000	3,688	839	2,866	1,083
Q4 2014	956	3,441	799	2,754	1,028
Q1 2015	980	3,200	877	2,671	918
Q2 2015	1,051	3,159	808	2,610	919
Q3 2015	938	3,035	798	2,418	839
Q4 2015	939	2,959	795	2,441	851
Q1 2016	904	2,795	794	2,468	800
Q2 2016	976	2,855	826	2,265	887
Q3 2016	1,006	2,780	881	2,290	826
Q4 2016	975	2,658	930	2,299	782
Q1 2017	997	2,637	821	2,122	773
Q2 2017	902	2,570	785	2,056	690
Q3 2017	974	2,408	765	2,102	658
Q4 2017	947	2,292	743	2,039	644
Q1 2018	855	2,329	786	1,932	650
Q2 2018	872	2,137	817	1,981	594
Q3 2018	844	2,015	820	1,851	569
Q4 2018	838	2,068	754	1,958	597
Q1 2019	871	2,058	808	1,925	616
Q2 2019	809	1,912	813	1,872	562
Q3 2019	790	1,915	823	1,741	598
Q4 2019	822	1,964	811	1,702	585
Q1 2020	1,160	2,013	769	1,803	532
Q2 2020	14,641	3,038	551	1,804	508
Q3 2020	6,644	4,070	671	2,158	534
Q4 2020	3,040	4,477	736	2,088	532
Q1 2021	2,351	4,260	709	2,128	541
Q2 2021	1,903	4,037	849	2,197	540
Q3 2021	1,167	3,283	850	2,336	491
Q4 2021	909	2,478	802	2,133	501
Note: Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force, at 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, changed little over the year. Reentrants are people who had been in the labor force previously, had spent time out of the labor force, and were actively seeking work once again. Reentrants accounted for 31.3 percent of unemployed people at the end of 2021.¹⁰

The number of unemployed job leavers—that is, people who voluntarily left their jobs—changed little over the year, averaging 802,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The number of new entrants to the labor force was essentially unchanged over the year, at 501,000.

The sharpest decline in unemployment occurred in service occupations

After rising with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the unemployment rate decreased for all five major occupational categories from 2020 to 2021.¹¹ (Data are annual averages.) The jobless rate for service occupations had the sharpest decrease, declining by 5.2 percentage points, to 7.8 percent in 2021. Within this category, food preparation and serving-related occupations, with a jobless rate of 10.3 percent, and personal care and service occupations, with a jobless rate of 8.3 percent, had the largest declines in 2021. Even with the sharp declines in 2021, the jobless rate in service occupations was still well above its prepandemic level at the end of the year. Most notably, the rate for personal care and service occupations was twice as high as the rate in 2019. The jobless rates also declined in 2021 for production, transportation, and material-moving occupations (7.1 percent); natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (6.6 percent); sales and office occupations (5.3 percent); and management, professional, and related occupations (2.8 percent). The unemployment rates for all of the major occupational categories remained above their prepandemic values.

Unemployment rates decreased more for women than for men in four of the five major occupational categories from 2020 to 2021. For service occupations, the over-the-year decline in the unemployment rate was 4.7 percentage points for men and 5.6 percentage points for women. (See table 5.)

Table 5. Unemployment rates, by occupational group and gender, annual averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (in percent)
Occupational group	Total			Men			Women
Occupational group	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21
Management, professional, and related occupations	4.5	2.8	-1.7	4.2	2.8	-1.4	4.9	2.9	-2.0
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	4.1	2.8	-1.3	3.8	2.7	-1.1	4.4	3.0	-1.4
Professional and related occupations	4.9	2.8	-2.1	4.6	2.9	-1.7	5.1	2.8	-2.3
Service occupations	13.0	7.8	-5.2	12.6	7.9	-4.7	13.3	7.7	-5.6
Healthcare support occupations	7.3	5.9	-1.4	7.5	5.3	-2.2	7.3	6.0	-1.3
Protective service occupations	5.1	3.9	-1.2	3.9	3.6	-0.3	8.7	4.8	-3.9
Food preparation and serving-related occupations	19.6	10.3	-9.3	20.8	11.1	-9.7	18.5	9.7	-8.8
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	10.9	7.5	-3.4	9.4	6.6	-2.8	13.1	8.8	-4.3
Personal care and service occupations	16.0	8.3	-7.7	17.5	12.5	-5.0	15.5	7.1	-8.4
Sales and office occupations	8.0	5.3	-2.7	7.2	4.9	-2.3	8.5	5.5	-3.0
Sales and related occupations	8.8	5.6	-3.2	6.9	4.6	-2.3	10.8	6.6	-4.2
Office and administrative support occupations	7.3	5.0	-2.3	7.9	5.5	-2.4	7.1	4.8	-2.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	8.9	6.6	-2.3	8.6	6.4	-2.2	12.5	9.1	-3.4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	10.3	8.9	-1.4	8.4	8.3	-0.1	15.7	10.9	-4.8
Construction and extraction occupations	10.1	7.8	-2.3	10.0	7.7	-2.3	10.6	11.0	0.4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	6.4	3.9	-2.5	6.2	4.0	-2.2	10.9	3.7	-7.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	10.2	7.1	-3.1	9.8	6.9	-2.9	11.6	7.6	-4.0
Production occupations	9.0	5.8	-3.2	8.5	5.5	-3.0	10.0	6.3	-3.7
Transportation and material moving occupations	11.1	8.0	-3.1	10.6	7.8	-2.8	13.2	8.8	-4.4
Note: The unemployed are classified by occupation according to their last job, which may or may not be similar to the job they are currently seeking. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Effective with January 2020 data, occupations reflect the introduction of the 2018 Census occupational classification system into the Current Population Survey, or household survey. This classification system is derived from the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification. No historical data have been revised. Data for 2020 are not strictly comparable with earlier years. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

All six alternative measures of labor underutilization declined over the year

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses CPS data to construct six alternative measures of labor underutilization.¹² Known as U-1 through U-6 (U-3 is the official unemployment rate), these measures tend to show similar cyclical patterns, but they provide additional insight into the degree to which labor resources are being underutilized. Each of the six measures decreased in 2021, but they all remained above their prepandemic levels. U-3 decreased by 2.6 percentage points, to 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. All six measures continued to trend down since reaching highs early in the COVID-19 pandemic. (See chart 6.) (See the box that follows for more information about the six measures of labor underutilization.)

View Chart Data

Chart 6. Alternative measures of labor underutilization, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2021 (in percent)
Quarter	U-1	U-2	U-3	U-4	U-5	U-6
Q1 1994	2.4	3.2	6.6	6.9	7.9	11.5
Q2 1994	2.2	2.8	6.2	6.5	7.4	11.1
Q3 1994	2.1	2.8	6.0	6.4	7.3	10.6
Q4 1994	2.0	2.7	5.6	5.9	6.8	10.2
Q1 1995	1.8	2.6	5.5	5.8	6.6	10.0
Q2 1995	1.8	2.6	5.7	6.0	6.8	10.1
Q3 1995	1.8	2.6	5.7	5.9	6.8	10.1
Q4 1995	1.7	2.7	5.6	5.9	6.7	10.0
Q1 1996	1.8	2.7	5.5	5.8	6.7	9.9
Q2 1996	1.8	2.6	5.5	5.8	6.6	9.8
Q3 1996	1.7	2.4	5.3	5.6	6.3	9.5
Q4 1996	1.6	2.4	5.3	5.6	6.4	9.5
Q1 1997	1.6	2.4	5.2	5.5	6.2	9.3
Q2 1997	1.6	2.2	5.0	5.2	6.0	9.0
Q3 1997	1.5	2.1	4.9	5.1	5.8	8.7
Q4 1997	1.4	2.1	4.7	4.9	5.6	8.5
Q1 1998	1.3	2.1	4.6	4.9	5.6	8.4
Q2 1998	1.1	2.0	4.4	4.6	5.3	8.0
Q3 1998	1.2	2.0	4.5	4.8	5.4	8.0
Q4 1998	1.1	2.0	4.4	4.7	5.3	7.7
Q1 1999	1.1	1.9	4.3	4.5	5.1	7.6
Q2 1999	1.1	1.9	4.3	4.4	5.1	7.5
Q3 1999	1.1	1.9	4.2	4.4	5.0	7.4
Q4 1999	1.0	1.8	4.1	4.3	4.9	7.2
Q1 2000	0.9	1.8	4.0	4.2	4.8	7.1
Q2 2000	0.9	1.7	3.9	4.2	4.7	7.0
Q3 2000	0.9	1.8	4.0	4.2	4.8	7.0
Q4 2000	0.9	1.8	3.9	4.1	4.7	7.0
Q1 2001	1.0	2.0	4.2	4.4	5.0	7.3
Q2 2001	1.1	2.2	4.4	4.6	5.2	7.6
Q3 2001	1.3	2.4	4.8	5.0	5.7	8.2
Q4 2001	1.6	3.1	5.5	5.8	6.4	9.4
Q1 2002	1.8	3.1	5.7	5.9	6.6	9.4
Q2 2002	2.0	3.2	5.8	6.1	6.8	9.6
Q3 2002	2.0	3.2	5.7	6.0	6.7	9.6
Q4 2002	2.2	3.3	5.8	6.1	6.8	9.7
Q1 2003	2.2	3.3	5.9	6.2	6.8	10.0
Q2 2003	2.3	3.4	6.2	6.5	7.1	10.2
Q3 2003	2.4	3.4	6.1	6.4	7.1	10.3
Q4 2003	2.3	3.2	5.8	6.1	6.8	10.0
Q1 2004	2.3	3.0	5.7	6.0	6.7	9.8
Q2 2004	2.1	2.9	5.6	5.9	6.6	9.6
Q3 2004	2.0	2.8	5.4	5.7	6.4	9.4
Q4 2004	2.0	2.7	5.4	5.7	6.4	9.5
Q1 2005	1.9	2.6	5.3	5.6	6.3	9.2
Q2 2005	1.7	2.4	5.1	5.4	6.1	9.0
Q3 2005	1.7	2.4	5.0	5.2	5.9	8.9
Q4 2005	1.6	2.3	5.0	5.2	5.9	8.7
Q1 2006	1.6	2.2	4.7	5.0	5.6	8.3
Q2 2006	1.5	2.3	4.7	4.9	5.6	8.3
Q3 2006	1.5	2.2	4.6	4.9	5.6	8.3
Q4 2006	1.4	2.1	4.5	4.7	5.3	8.1
Q1 2007	1.4	2.2	4.5	4.8	5.4	8.1
Q2 2007	1.5	2.2	4.5	4.7	5.4	8.2
Q3 2007	1.5	2.4	4.7	4.9	5.5	8.4
Q4 2007	1.6	2.4	4.8	5.0	5.6	8.5
Q1 2008	1.6	2.6	5.0	5.2	5.9	9.0
Q2 2008	1.8	2.7	5.3	5.6	6.2	9.7
Q3 2008	2.2	3.2	6.0	6.3	7.0	10.8
Q4 2008	2.7	4.0	6.9	7.2	8.0	12.7
Q1 2009	3.5	5.2	8.3	8.7	9.5	15.0
Q2 2009	4.6	6.0	9.3	9.7	10.6	16.3
Q3 2009	5.2	6.3	9.6	10.0	10.9	16.6
Q4 2009	5.7	6.4	9.9	10.4	11.3	17.1
Q1 2010	5.8	6.2	9.8	10.5	11.2	16.9
Q2 2010	5.8	6.0	9.7	10.3	11.1	16.8
Q3 2010	5.5	5.9	9.5	10.2	10.9	16.6
Q4 2010	5.6	5.9	9.5	10.3	11.0	16.7
Q1 2011	5.4	5.5	9.0	9.6	10.5	16.0
Q2 2011	5.3	5.4	9.1	9.6	10.5	16.0
Q3 2011	5.4	5.2	9.0	9.6	10.5	16.1
Q4 2011	5.0	5.0	8.7	9.2	10.2	15.5
Q1 2012	4.7	4.6	8.3	8.8	9.7	14.9
Q2 2012	4.6	4.5	8.2	8.7	9.6	14.7
Q3 2012	4.4	4.4	8.0	8.5	9.5	14.7
Q4 2012	4.3	4.2	7.8	8.4	9.3	14.4
Q1 2013	4.2	4.1	7.7	8.2	9.1	14.2
Q2 2013	4.1	4.0	7.5	8.1	9.0	14.0
Q3 2013	3.8	3.8	7.3	7.8	8.6	13.6
Q4 2013	3.7	3.7	7.0	7.4	8.3	13.3
Q1 2014	3.5	3.5	6.6	7.1	8.0	12.6
Q2 2014	3.1	3.2	6.2	6.7	7.5	12.2
Q3 2014	2.9	3.0	6.1	6.5	7.4	11.9
Q4 2014	2.7	2.8	5.7	6.2	7.0	11.4
Q1 2015	2.5	2.7	5.5	6.0	6.8	11.0
Q2 2015	2.3	2.7	5.4	5.8	6.6	10.7
Q3 2015	2.2	2.5	5.1	5.5	6.2	10.2
Q4 2015	2.1	2.5	5.0	5.4	6.1	9.9
Q1 2016	2.1	2.3	4.9	5.2	6.0	9.7
Q2 2016	2.0	2.4	4.9	5.2	6.0	9.8
Q3 2016	2.0	2.4	4.9	5.2	6.0	9.7
Q4 2016	1.9	2.3	4.8	5.1	5.8	9.4
Q1 2017	1.8	2.3	4.6	4.9	5.5	9.0
Q2 2017	1.7	2.2	4.4	4.6	5.3	8.6
Q3 2017	1.7	2.1	4.3	4.6	5.2	8.5
Q4 2017	1.6	2.0	4.2	4.5	5.1	8.1
Q1 2018	1.4	2.0	4.0	4.3	4.9	8.0
Q2 2018	1.4	1.9	3.9	4.2	4.8	7.8
Q3 2018	1.4	1.8	3.8	4.1	4.7	7.5
Q4 2018	1.4	1.8	3.8	4.1	4.8	7.6
Q1 2019	1.3	1.8	3.8	4.1	4.7	7.5
Q2 2019	1.3	1.7	3.6	3.9	4.5	7.2
Q3 2019	1.3	1.7	3.6	3.8	4.5	7.0
Q4 2019	1.3	1.7	3.6	3.8	4.3	6.9
Q1 2020	1.2	1.9	3.8	4.1	4.6	7.5
Q2 2020	1.5	11.2	13.0	13.3	14.3	20.6
Q3 2020	4.9	6.7	8.8	9.2	9.9	14.5
Q4 2020	3.6	4.7	6.8	7.1	8.0	11.9
Q1 2021	3.4	4.1	6.2	6.5	7.3	11.0
Q2 2021	3.2	3.7	5.9	6.2	7.0	10.1
Q3 2021	2.6	2.8	5.1	5.4	6.1	8.8
Q4 2021	1.9	2.1	4.2	4.5	5.2	7.7
Note: Measures of labor underutilization are defined as follows: U-1 = people unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percentage of the civilian labor force; U-2 = job losers and people who completed temporary jobs, as a percentage of the civilian labor force; U-3 = total unemployed, as a percentage of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate); U-4 = total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers; U-5 = total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers; U-6 = total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percentage of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Alternative measures of labor underutilization

Six alternative measures of labor underutilization have long been available on a monthly basis from the Current Population Survey (CPS) for the United States as a whole. The official concept of unemployment (as measured in the CPS by U-3 in the U-1 to U-6 range of alternative measures) includes all jobless people who are available to take a job and have actively sought work in the past 4 weeks. The other measures encompass concepts both narrower (U-1 and U-2) and broader (U-4 through U-6) than the official concept of unemployment. The six measures are defined as follows:

U-1: people unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
U-2: job losers and people who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
U-3: total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (this is the definition used for the official unemployment rate);
U-4: total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers;
U-5: total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers;
U-6: total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.

Discouraged workers (included in the U-4, U-5, and U-6 measures) are people who are not in the labor force, want and are available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They are not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Discouraged workers are not currently looking for work specifically because they believe no jobs are available for them or there are none for which they are qualified. The marginally attached (included in the U-5 and U-6 measures) category includes discouraged workers. The criteria for the marginally attached are the same as for discouraged workers, with the exception that any reason can be cited for the lack of active job search in the prior 4 weeks. People at work part time for economic reasons (included in the U-6 measure) are those working less than 35 hours per week who want to work full time, are available to do so, and give an economic reason for working part time (for example, their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find a full-time job). These individuals are sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers.

Improvements in unemployment were also reflected in labor force status flows

Each month, BLS reports on the number of people who are employed, unemployed, and not in the labor force, as measured by the CPS. A great deal of underlying movement contributes to the relatively small over-the-month net changes that typically occur in the different labor force statuses. These gross movements are captured by labor force status flows data, which show that millions of people move between employment and unemployment each month, while millions of others leave or enter the labor force.¹³ In 2021, 17.2 million people, or 6.6 percent of the population, changed their labor force status in an average month. Examining the current status (employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force) of people who were unemployed in the previous month provides a greater understanding of unemployment in 2021.

Historically, unemployed people are more likely to remain unemployed from one month to the next than to either find employment or leave the labor force. The likelihood of unemployed people remaining unemployed tends to increase during labor market downturns, as it did after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of unemployed people who remained unemployed declined in 2021; at about 50 percent in December 2021 (calculated as a 3-month moving average), the share is roughly comparable with its value at the end of 2019. The likelihood of unemployed people finding employment edged up over the year, and the percentage who stopped looking and left the labor force increased in 2021. In December 2021, 27.7 percent of people who were unemployed a month earlier found work, while 24.0 percent stopped looking for work and left the labor force. (See chart 7.)

View Chart Data

Chart 7. Percentage of the unemployed who remained unemployed, found employment, or left the labor force, 3-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, April 1990–December 2021
Month	Found employment	Remained unemployed	Left the labor force
Apr 1990	29.6	49.3	21.1
May 1990	28.4	50.7	20.8
Jun 1990	28.2	51.4	20.4
Jul 1990	28.3	51.3	20.4
Aug 1990	28.2	51.4	20.4
Sep 1990	26.7	53.4	19.9
Oct 1990	26.7	54.0	19.3
Nov 1990	26.2	54.5	19.3
Dec 1990	26.4	54.3	19.3
Jan 1991	25.7	54.7	19.6
Feb 1991	25.4	55.1	19.4
Mar 1991	25.4	55.5	19.1
Apr 1991	26.0	55.7	18.2
May 1991	25.3	56.4	18.3
Jun 1991	25.3	56.4	18.3
Jul 1991	24.1	57.0	18.9
Aug 1991	24.6	56.6	18.8
Sep 1991	24.9	56.4	18.7
Oct 1991	25.0	56.2	18.8
Nov 1991	24.7	56.8	18.5
Dec 1991	23.3	58.0	18.7
Jan 1992	24.0	57.8	18.1
Feb 1992	23.4	59.0	17.6
Mar 1992	23.6	59.3	17.1
Apr 1992	22.5	60.1	17.4
May 1992	22.8	59.6	17.6
Jun 1992	22.9	59.6	17.5
Jul 1992	22.9	59.6	17.5
Aug 1992	22.6	59.8	17.5
Sep 1992	22.7	59.2	18.1
Oct 1992	22.8	58.8	18.5
Nov 1992	23.3	58.3	18.4
Dec 1992	23.5	57.9	18.5
Jan 1993	23.4	58.4	18.1
Feb 1993	23.0	58.0	19.0
Mar 1993	23.0	58.0	19.0
Apr 1993	23.3	57.7	19.0
May 1993	23.9	58.1	18.0
Jun 1993	23.7	58.9	17.4
Jul 1993	24.0	58.3	17.7
Aug 1993	23.8	57.8	18.4
Sep 1993	23.8	57.1	19.1
Oct 1993	23.7	57.3	19.1
Nov 1993	24.0	56.8	19.2
Dec 1993	25.0	55.8	19.2
Jan 1994	25.4	55.0	19.5
Feb 1994	25.7	54.3	20.0
Mar 1994	25.6	53.5	20.8
Apr 1994	25.7	52.5	21.8
May 1994	26.2	51.3	22.5
Jun 1994	26.2	50.4	23.3
Jul 1994	26.6	49.8	23.5
Aug 1994	26.9	49.7	23.4
Sep 1994	27.4	50.0	22.6
Oct 1994	27.1	50.6	22.3
Nov 1994	27.0	50.2	22.8
Dec 1994	28.0	48.9	23.1
Jan 1995	28.8	47.7	23.4
Feb 1995	29.0	47.8	23.1
Mar 1995	28.4	48.9	22.7
Apr 1995	28.3	49.6	22.1
May 1995	27.7	49.8	22.5
Jun 1995	27.5	49.7	22.8
Jul 1995	27.4	49.5	23.1
Aug 1995	28.2	49.2	22.6
Sep 1995	28.1	49.0	22.9
Oct 1995	28.5	48.0	23.5
Nov 1995	27.8	48.5	23.7
Dec 1995	27.1	49.4	23.5
Jan 1996	26.6	50.4	23.0
Feb 1996	26.8	50.1	23.1
Mar 1996	27.4	49.5	23.1
Apr 1996	27.3	49.7	23.0
May 1996	27.1	49.8	23.1
Jun 1996	27.1	49.3	23.6
Jul 1996	27.5	48.8	23.7
Aug 1996	28.2	48.4	23.4
Sep 1996	28.6	48.3	23.0
Oct 1996	28.9	48.5	22.5
Nov 1996	28.5	48.9	22.6
Dec 1996	27.8	50.1	22.0
Jan 1997	28.2	49.2	22.6
Feb 1997	28.6	49.0	22.4
Mar 1997	29.4	48.2	22.4
Apr 1997	28.7	48.6	22.7
May 1997	29.0	48.1	22.9
Jun 1997	29.3	47.4	23.3
Jul 1997	30.2	46.8	23.0
Aug 1997	29.3	47.0	23.6
Sep 1997	28.6	47.7	23.7
Oct 1997	28.1	47.8	24.1
Nov 1997	28.9	47.6	23.5
Dec 1997	30.1	46.3	23.6
Jan 1998	30.1	46.3	23.6
Feb 1998	30.5	45.2	24.2
Mar 1998	29.9	45.3	24.8
Apr 1998	30.8	44.1	25.0
May 1998	30.5	44.8	24.6
Jun 1998	31.0	45.4	23.6
Jul 1998	30.4	46.3	23.3
Aug 1998	30.9	46.1	23.0
Sep 1998	30.9	45.6	23.5
Oct 1998	31.0	45.4	23.6
Nov 1998	30.9	44.8	24.3
Dec 1998	30.7	44.2	25.1
Jan 1999	30.9	43.8	25.3
Feb 1999	31.0	44.0	24.9
Mar 1999	31.9	43.8	24.3
Apr 1999	31.2	44.4	24.3
May 1999	31.1	44.1	24.8
Jun 1999	30.4	45.2	24.4
Jul 1999	31.2	45.1	23.7
Aug 1999	31.6	45.4	23.0
Sep 1999	31.8	45.4	22.8
Oct 1999	31.7	44.8	23.4
Nov 1999	32.5	43.8	23.7
Dec 1999	33.1	42.4	24.5
Jan 2000	34.7	41.6	23.7
Feb 2000	33.6	42.7	23.7
Mar 2000	33.0	43.2	23.8
Apr 2000	32.5	43.0	24.5
May 2000	32.2	43.0	24.8
Jun 2000	32.1	42.7	25.1
Jul 2000	32.0	43.4	24.6
Aug 2000	32.5	43.0	24.5
Sep 2000	32.4	43.2	24.4
Oct 2000	32.5	43.2	24.3
Nov 2000	32.1	44.2	23.6
Dec 2000	31.5	45.8	22.7
Jan 2001	30.9	46.5	22.6
Feb 2001	30.7	46.2	23.1
Mar 2001	31.0	45.4	23.5
Apr 2001	30.6	45.0	24.4
May 2001	31.3	44.5	24.2
Jun 2001	31.1	45.0	23.8
Jul 2001	31.1	45.9	22.9
Aug 2001	30.0	47.5	22.5
Sep 2001	29.4	48.4	22.2
Oct 2001	28.4	49.6	22.0
Nov 2001	27.9	50.5	21.6
Dec 2001	27.0	51.7	21.3
Jan 2002	26.5	52.2	21.3
Feb 2002	26.8	52.4	20.8
Mar 2002	26.9	52.5	20.5
Apr 2002	26.8	53.3	19.9
May 2002	25.5	54.1	20.4
Jun 2002	24.6	54.7	20.8
Jul 2002	24.2	53.8	22.0
Aug 2002	24.6	53.6	21.7
Sep 2002	25.4	53.0	21.5
Oct 2002	25.7	53.4	20.9
Nov 2002	24.8	53.8	21.4
Dec 2002	23.8	54.7	21.4
Jan 2003	24.0	54.1	21.9
Feb 2003	23.8	54.5	21.7
Mar 2003	23.8	53.7	22.5
Apr 2003	23.5	54.7	21.7
May 2003	23.5	54.6	21.8
Jun 2003	23.7	55.4	20.9
Jul 2003	23.2	55.6	21.2
Aug 2003	23.4	55.1	21.5
Sep 2003	23.2	54.9	21.8
Oct 2003	23.3	54.6	22.1
Nov 2003	23.5	54.8	21.7
Dec 2003	24.5	53.6	21.9
Jan 2004	25.1	53.8	21.1
Feb 2004	24.9	53.2	21.8
Mar 2004	24.0	53.9	22.0
Apr 2004	24.2	53.0	22.8
May 2004	24.8	53.0	22.2
Jun 2004	25.2	52.9	21.9
Jul 2004	25.4	52.6	21.9
Aug 2004	25.1	52.1	22.8
Sep 2004	25.7	50.9	23.4
Oct 2004	26.1	50.7	23.3
Nov 2004	26.8	50.6	22.5
Dec 2004	26.6	51.1	22.2
Jan 2005	26.2	51.6	22.2
Feb 2005	26.1	52.0	21.9
Mar 2005	26.0	51.9	22.1
Apr 2005	26.3	51.5	22.2
May 2005	26.1	51.0	22.9
Jun 2005	26.1	50.8	23.0
Jul 2005	25.8	50.5	23.7
Aug 2005	26.8	49.5	23.7
Sep 2005	26.6	49.6	23.9
Oct 2005	26.6	49.6	23.8
Nov 2005	26.2	50.0	23.8
Dec 2005	26.5	49.0	24.5
Jan 2006	27.1	48.1	24.7
Feb 2006	26.6	48.4	25.0
Mar 2006	27.0	48.7	24.2
Apr 2006	27.0	48.8	24.2
May 2006	27.7	47.8	24.4
Jun 2006	28.3	47.0	24.6
Jul 2006	28.6	46.8	24.6
Aug 2006	28.9	46.6	24.5
Sep 2006	29.0	46.8	24.1
Oct 2006	28.6	46.9	24.4
Nov 2006	28.5	47.7	23.8
Dec 2006	28.8	47.6	23.6
Jan 2007	29.2	48.0	22.7
Feb 2007	29.6	46.8	23.5
Mar 2007	29.6	46.8	23.6
Apr 2007	29.2	47.3	23.5
May 2007	28.9	48.2	22.9
Jun 2007	27.4	49.6	22.9
Jul 2007	27.4	49.6	23.0
Aug 2007	26.9	50.2	22.8
Sep 2007	27.3	50.1	22.6
Oct 2007	27.1	50.3	22.6
Nov 2007	26.9	50.1	23.0
Dec 2007	26.9	50.8	22.3
Jan 2008	26.9	51.5	21.5
Feb 2008	26.4	51.6	21.9
Mar 2008	26.3	51.0	22.6
Apr 2008	26.4	49.7	23.9
May 2008	26.2	50.8	23.0
Jun 2008	25.3	52.1	22.6
Jul 2008	24.3	54.5	21.2
Aug 2008	23.8	55.1	21.1
Sep 2008	23.9	54.8	21.3
Oct 2008	23.4	55.0	21.6
Nov 2008	22.5	56.2	21.3
Dec 2008	21.0	58.0	21.0
Jan 2009	20.1	59.2	20.6
Feb 2009	19.5	60.4	20.0
Mar 2009	18.6	61.9	19.4
Apr 2009	18.2	62.9	18.8
May 2009	17.3	64.0	18.7
Jun 2009	17.6	64.2	18.2
Jul 2009	17.3	64.3	18.4
Aug 2009	17.3	63.9	18.7
Sep 2009	17.1	64.0	18.8
Oct 2009	16.4	64.9	18.7
Nov 2009	16.6	65.2	18.2
Dec 2009	15.9	65.4	18.6
Jan 2010	16.3	64.9	18.7
Feb 2010	16.2	64.9	18.9
Mar 2010	16.8	64.4	18.7
Apr 2010	17.3	64.2	18.5
May 2010	17.6	63.5	18.9
Jun 2010	17.2	63.3	19.5
Jul 2010	16.9	63.0	20.0
Aug 2010	16.7	63.2	20.0
Sep 2010	16.8	63.3	19.9
Oct 2010	16.6	63.5	19.9
Nov 2010	16.6	63.7	19.7
Dec 2010	17.0	63.0	19.9
Jan 2011	16.9	62.6	20.4
Feb 2011	16.8	62.3	20.9
Mar 2011	16.7	62.6	20.6
Apr 2011	16.7	62.8	20.5
May 2011	16.8	62.8	20.4
Jun 2011	16.9	62.6	20.5
Jul 2011	17.1	62.3	20.6
Aug 2011	17.2	62.4	20.4
Sep 2011	17.2	62.0	20.8
Oct 2011	17.5	62.3	20.2
Nov 2011	17.9	61.8	20.3
Dec 2011	18.3	61.8	19.9
Jan 2012	18.4	60.9	20.7
Feb 2012	18.4	60.6	21.0
Mar 2012	18.3	60.4	21.2
Apr 2012	18.1	60.8	21.1
May 2012	18.0	60.8	21.2
Jun 2012	17.8	61.0	21.2
Jul 2012	17.9	60.9	21.2
Aug 2012	17.8	60.5	21.7
Sep 2012	18.1	59.6	22.2
Oct 2012	18.6	58.7	22.6
Nov 2012	18.8	58.4	22.8
Dec 2012	18.4	58.9	22.7
Jan 2013	18.1	59.8	22.1
Feb 2013	18.4	59.8	21.8
Mar 2013	18.4	59.7	21.8
Apr 2013	18.5	59.6	21.9
May 2013	18.7	59.9	21.4
Jun 2013	19.3	59.8	20.9
Jul 2013	19.7	58.9	21.4
Aug 2013	19.6	58.4	22.0
Sep 2013	19.2	58.5	22.2
Oct 2013	18.6	58.5	22.9
Nov 2013	18.7	58.8	22.5
Dec 2013	19.3	57.8	22.9
Jan 2014	20.3	56.9	22.8
Feb 2014	21.3	56.1	22.7
Mar 2014	21.9	55.9	22.2
Apr 2014	22.0	55.8	22.2
May 2014	21.5	55.4	23.1
Jun 2014	21.5	54.6	23.9
Jul 2014	21.3	55.0	23.7
Aug 2014	21.7	54.6	23.7
Sep 2014	21.8	54.8	23.3
Oct 2014	22.9	53.8	23.2
Nov 2014	23.1	53.4	23.5
Dec 2014	23.4	52.5	24.0
Jan 2015	22.7	52.9	24.4
Feb 2015	22.8	52.3	24.9
Mar 2015	22.8	52.1	25.0
Apr 2015	23.4	51.5	25.0
May 2015	23.6	52.3	24.1
Jun 2015	23.9	51.9	24.2
Jul 2015	23.3	51.8	24.8
Aug 2015	24.0	50.7	25.2
Sep 2015	23.9	50.8	25.2
Oct 2015	24.6	50.9	24.4
Nov 2015	24.5	51.6	23.9
Dec 2015	25.1	51.9	22.9
Jan 2016	25.3	51.3	23.4
Feb 2016	24.4	51.2	24.4
Mar 2016	23.5	52.1	24.3
Apr 2016	22.9	53.0	24.1
May 2016	23.7	51.9	24.3
Jun 2016	24.2	51.1	24.7
Jul 2016	24.8	51.0	24.1
Aug 2016	24.5	52.4	23.0
Sep 2016	24.6	53.0	22.4
Oct 2016	25.1	52.2	22.7
Nov 2016	25.8	50.6	23.5
Dec 2016	25.7	49.8	24.6
Jan 2017	26.0	50.3	23.5
Feb 2017	26.3	51.1	22.4
Mar 2017	26.4	51.1	22.3
Apr 2017	26.4	50.1	23.4
May 2017	26.2	50.0	23.8
Jun 2017	26.6	49.5	23.9
Jul 2017	27.5	49.1	23.4
Aug 2017	27.2	48.8	24.0
Sep 2017	27.8	48.5	23.7
Oct 2017	27.3	48.1	24.6
Nov 2017	28.0	48.3	23.7
Dec 2017	27.6	48.5	23.8
Jan 2018	27.3	49.0	23.6
Feb 2018	27.4	48.5	24.1
Mar 2018	27.6	47.8	24.6
Apr 2018	27.7	47.5	24.8
May 2018	27.2	47.5	25.3
Jun 2018	26.7	48.8	24.5
Jul 2018	26.8	49.3	23.9
Aug 2018	27.5	48.7	23.8
Sep 2018	27.9	47.4	24.7
Oct 2018	28.3	46.9	24.7
Nov 2018	28.2	46.7	25.0
Dec 2018	28.4	47.8	23.7
Jan 2019	28.2	48.4	23.3
Feb 2019	27.9	47.9	24.1
Mar 2019	27.9	47.3	24.7
Apr 2019	27.3	47.0	25.6
May 2019	26.8	48.0	25.2
Jun 2019	26.9	47.8	25.3
Jul 2019	27.7	48.0	24.2
Aug 2019	28.2	48.3	23.5
Sep 2019	28.0	48.1	23.8
Oct 2019	27.0	48.1	24.9
Nov 2019	26.5	48.8	24.6
Dec 2019	27.4	48.6	24.0
Jan 2020	29.2	47.0	23.7
Feb 2020	30.2	45.5	24.2
Mar 2020	28.3	46.8	24.8
Apr 2020	23.2	47.3	29.5
May 2020	29.0	50.0	21.1
Jun 2020	32.7	49.4	17.9
Jul 2020	33.2	51.2	15.6
Aug 2020	31.6	52.1	16.3
Sep 2020	27.3	54.6	18.1
Oct 2020	26.9	53.9	19.2
Nov 2020	25.3	54.6	20.0
Dec 2020	24.8	54.7	20.5
Jan 2021	23.6	55.8	20.5
Feb 2021	23.9	55.2	20.8
Mar 2021	23.9	55.1	20.9
Apr 2021	23.7	55.4	20.9
May 2021	23.3	54.7	22.0
Jun 2021	23.2	55.3	21.4
Jul 2021	23.5	53.9	22.5
Aug 2021	24.2	53.7	22.0
Sep 2021	24.8	52.0	23.1
Oct 2021	25.3	52.1	22.6
Nov 2021	26.3	50.2	23.4
Dec 2021	27.7	48.2	24.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Number of people not in the labor force who wanted a job continued to trend down

People who are neither employed nor unemployed are classified as not in the labor force.¹⁴ In 2021, the number of people not in the labor force decreased by 385,000, reaching 100.0 million by the end of the year. Although most people who are not in the labor force do not want a job (about 95 percent at the end of 2021), the number of people not in the labor force who indicated that they did want a job fell by 1.2 million, to 5.8 million at the end of 2021.¹⁵ The measure remains above its prepandemic level of 4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The remaining people not in the labor force, numbering 94.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, did not want a job. (See table 6.)

Table 6. Number of people not in the labor force, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (in thousands)
Category	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Category	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter 2021	Second quarter 2021	Third quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Total not in the labor force	100,399	100,533	100,253	100,165	100,014	-385
People who currently want a job	7,027	6,900	6,545	6,049	5,822	-1,205
Marginally attached to the labor force^[1]	2,074	1,882	1,874	1,727	1,645	-429
Discouraged workers^[2]	633	553	586	446	456	-177
^[1] This category includes people who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference week but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. ^[2] This category includes people who did not actively look for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey for reasons such as thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of discrimination. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Among people not in the labor force who currently want a job, the number defined as marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, fell by 429,000 over the year. These individuals wanted a job, had searched for work sometime in the previous year, and were available to work if a job had been offered to them. Still, they are not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

In addition to declining unemployment and increasing employment, another measure that reflected the improvement in the labor market in 2021 is the number of discouraged workers. Among the marginally attached, people currently not looking for work specifically because they felt that no jobs were available for them are defined as discouraged workers. The number of discouraged workers declined by 177,000 over the year, to 456,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See chart 8.)

View Chart Data

Chart 8. People not in the labor force, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 1994–2021 (in thousands)
Quarter	People who currently want a job	Marginally attached to the labor force	Discouraged workers
Q1 1994	6,475	1,855	523
Q2 1994	6,360	1,800	499
Q3 1994	6,104	1,829	520
Q4 1994	5,898	1,739	457
Q1 1995	5,791	1,647	430
Q2 1995	5,602	1,543	390
Q3 1995	5,573	1,574	402
Q4 1995	5,714	1,607	418
Q1 1996	5,608	1,620	424
Q2 1996	5,495	1,608	396
Q3 1996	5,404	1,502	411
Q4 1996	5,277	1,496	356
Q1 1997	5,089	1,456	360
Q2 1997	4,988	1,491	363
Q3 1997	4,862	1,332	319
Q4 1997	4,810	1,383	330
Q1 1998	4,880	1,380	348
Q2 1998	4,792	1,272	312
Q3 1998	4,906	1,333	325
Q4 1998	4,660	1,252	338
Q1 1999	4,658	1,224	292
Q2 1999	4,737	1,246	245
Q3 1999	4,466	1,156	283
Q4 1999	4,377	1,177	273
Q1 2000	4,483	1,172	246
Q2 2000	4,375	1,191	311
Q3 2000	4,370	1,150	242
Q4 2000	4,426	1,115	249
Q1 2001	4,423	1,182	303
Q2 2001	4,554	1,188	329
Q3 2001	4,656	1,313	313
Q4 2001	4,726	1,384	340
Q1 2002	4,653	1,367	334
Q2 2002	4,733	1,460	365
Q3 2002	4,720	1,488	395
Q4 2002	4,576	1,450	387
Q1 2003	4,716	1,513	444
Q2 2003	4,667	1,476	473
Q3 2003	4,839	1,589	456
Q4 2003	4,663	1,549	457
Q1 2004	4,779	1,591	462
Q2 2004	4,693	1,564	489
Q3 2004	4,841	1,567	486
Q4 2004	5,113	1,576	426
Q1 2005	4,992	1,610	478
Q2 2005	5,036	1,550	426
Q3 2005	4,917	1,511	416
Q4 2005	4,998	1,504	420
Q1 2006	4,928	1,462	399
Q2 2006	4,693	1,464	400
Q3 2006	4,826	1,469	402
Q4 2006	4,692	1,391	322
Q1 2007	4,592	1,412	387
Q2 2007	4,873	1,454	395
Q3 2007	4,771	1,335	346
Q4 2007	4,553	1,380	347
Q1 2008	4,768	1,494	409
Q2 2008	4,838	1,500	418
Q3 2008	5,033	1,604	440
Q4 2008	5,315	1,855	581
Q1 2009	5,711	2,031	697
Q2 2009	5,940	2,220	790
Q3 2009	5,867	2,252	758
Q4 2009	6,062	2,412	869
Q1 2010	6,011	2,367	1,060
Q2 2010	5,882	2,485	1,184
Q3 2010	6,067	2,505	1,176
Q4 2010	6,301	2,590	1,275
Q1 2011	6,463	2,578	954
Q2 2011	6,448	2,526	949
Q3 2011	6,413	2,611	1,048
Q4 2011	6,415	2,565	1,002
Q1 2012	6,327	2,518	953
Q2 2012	6,433	2,506	893
Q3 2012	6,781	2,525	836
Q4 2012	6,704	2,514	950
Q1 2013	6,693	2,392	813
Q2 2013	6,589	2,445	900
Q3 2013	6,310	2,342	903
Q4 2013	5,968	2,261	829
Q1 2014	6,181	2,292	747
Q2 2014	6,323	2,187	737
Q3 2014	6,322	2,173	740
Q4 2014	6,465	2,176	733
Q1 2015	6,386	2,102	715
Q2 2015	6,134	2,030	680
Q3 2015	5,952	1,871	635
Q4 2015	5,852	1,822	631
Q1 2016	5,888	1,822	597
Q2 2016	5,788	1,795	552
Q3 2016	5,892	1,820	571
Q4 2016	5,827	1,776	493
Q1 2017	5,723	1,650	502
Q2 2017	5,483	1,576	453
Q3 2017	5,599	1,573	469
Q4 2017	5,262	1,550	478
Q1 2018	5,134	1,533	423
Q2 2018	5,185	1,459	391
Q3 2018	5,299	1,498	445
Q4 2018	5,375	1,581	434
Q1 2019	5,205	1,430	422
Q2 2019	5,125	1,497	412
Q3 2019	5,021	1,439	389
Q4 2019	4,822	1,248	305
Q1 2020	5,132	1,414	429
Q2 2020	9,006	2,384	626
Q3 2020	7,326	2,000	608
Q4 2020	7,027	2,074	633
Q1 2021	6,900	1,882	553
Q2 2021	6,545	1,874	586
Q3 2021	6,049	1,727	446
Q4 2021	5,822	1,645	456
Note: Shaded regions represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Turning points are quarterly. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Employment continued to trend up in 2021

After falling by 20.1 million in the second quarter of 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment growth recovered more than half (12.2 million) of those losses in the second half of that year. Employment growth continued in 2021, and by the fourth quarter, the number of people employed averaged 155.2 million, up by 5.4 million from the previous year. The employment–population ratio (the percentage of the population ages 16 years and older who are employed) also increased in 2021. This ratio increased by 1.8 percentage points over the year, to 59.2 percent, but it remains 1.8 percentage points below its level in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See table 1 and chart 9.)

View Chart Data

Chart 9. Labor force participation rate and employment–population ratio, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2000–21 (in percent)
Quarter	Labor force participation rate	Employment–population ratio
Q1 2000	67.3	64.6
Q2 2000	67.2	64.5
Q3 2000	66.9	64.2
Q4 2000	66.9	64.3
Q1 2001	67.2	64.3
Q2 2001	66.8	63.8
Q3 2001	66.7	63.5
Q4 2001	66.7	63.0
Q1 2002	66.6	62.8
Q2 2002	66.7	62.8
Q3 2002	66.6	62.8
Q4 2002	66.4	62.5
Q1 2003	66.3	62.4
Q2 2003	66.4	62.4
Q3 2003	66.1	62.1
Q4 2003	66.1	62.2
Q1 2004	66.0	62.3
Q2 2004	66.0	62.3
Q3 2004	66.0	62.4
Q4 2004	66.0	62.4
Q1 2005	65.9	62.4
Q2 2005	66.1	62.7
Q3 2005	66.1	62.8
Q4 2005	66.0	62.8
Q1 2006	66.1	63.0
Q2 2006	66.1	63.1
Q3 2006	66.1	63.1
Q4 2006	66.3	63.3
Q1 2007	66.3	63.3
Q2 2007	66.0	63.0
Q3 2007	65.9	62.8
Q4 2007	66.0	62.8
Q1 2008	66.1	62.8
Q2 2008	66.0	62.5
Q3 2008	66.0	62.1
Q4 2008	65.9	61.4
Q1 2009	65.7	60.2
Q2 2009	65.7	59.6
Q3 2009	65.3	59.0
Q4 2009	64.9	58.4
Q1 2010	64.9	58.5
Q2 2010	64.9	58.6
Q3 2010	64.6	58.5
Q4 2010	64.4	58.3
Q1 2011	64.2	58.4
Q2 2011	64.1	58.3
Q3 2011	64.1	58.3
Q4 2011	64.1	58.5
Q1 2012	63.8	58.5
Q2 2012	63.7	58.5
Q3 2012	63.6	58.5
Q4 2012	63.7	58.7
Q1 2013	63.5	58.5
Q2 2013	63.4	58.6
Q3 2013	63.3	58.7
Q4 2013	62.9	58.5
Q1 2014	63.0	58.8
Q2 2014	62.8	58.9
Q3 2014	62.9	59.0
Q4 2014	62.9	59.3
Q1 2015	62.7	59.3
Q2 2015	62.8	59.4
Q3 2015	62.5	59.3
Q4 2015	62.6	59.4
Q1 2016	62.8	59.8
Q2 2016	62.8	59.7
Q3 2016	62.8	59.8
Q4 2016	62.7	59.7
Q1 2017	62.9	60.0
Q2 2017	62.9	60.1
Q3 2017	62.9	60.2
Q4 2017	62.7	60.1
Q1 2018	62.9	60.3
Q2 2018	62.9	60.4
Q3 2018	62.8	60.4
Q4 2018	62.9	60.5
Q1 2019	63.1	60.7
Q2 2019	62.9	60.6
Q3 2019	63.1	60.8
Q4 2019	63.3	61.0
Q1 2020	63.1	60.7
Q2 2020	60.8	52.9
Q3 2020	61.5	56.1
Q4 2020	61.5	57.4
Q1 2021	61.5	57.7
Q2 2021	61.6	58.0
Q3 2021	61.7	58.6
Q4 2021	61.8	59.2
Note: Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Labor market conditions improved for both women and men in 2021. From the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021, employment increased by 2.5 million for women and by 2.9 million for men. The employment–population ratio increased by 1.7 percentage points for women, compared with 2.0 percentage points for men. (See table 1.)

Employment–population ratios increased for all race and ethnicity groups

Employment rose for all race and ethnicity groups, and this was reflected in their employment–population ratios. The over-the-year increase in the employment–population ratio was greatest for Asians, followed by Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites.

The employment–population ratio for Asians rose by 4.3 percentage points, to 62.5 percent in 2021.¹⁶ The ratio is essentially the same as the prepandemic figure of 62.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. The employment–population ratio for Hispanics, at 62.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, increased by 2.9 percentage points over the year. The employment–population ratio for Blacks increased by 2.6 percentage points, to 56.5 percent, after having fallen below 50.0 percent in the second quarter of 2020. (See table 1.) The employment–population ratio for Whites, at 59.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, rose by 1.5 percentage points over the year. The ratios for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics were still below the ratios seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

People ages 16 to 24 did well in the labor market in 2021

Among people ages 16 to 24, employment rose over the year by 885,000, or 4.9 percent. Much of that rise in employment occurred in the 20- to-24-year age group, which accounted for 75.4 percent of the increase. The employment–population ratio for people ages 16 to 24 was 51.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, 2.7 percentage points higher than it was a year earlier, and essentially the same as in the fourth quarter of 2019 (51.4 percent). (See table 2.)

The number of employed people ages 25 to 54 rose by 3.4 million, or 3.5 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021. The employment–population ratio rose by 2.6 percentage points over the year, to 78.7 percent. Both measures are still below their prepandemic levels.

Employment among people ages 55 years and older increased by 1.1 million, or 3.2 percent, in 2021. The employment–population ratio for older workers, at 37.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, rose by 0.7 percentage point over the year. Despite these increases, both measures remained below their prepandemic levels at the end of 2021.

Employment growth was strongest for people with more education

For people ages 25 years and older, employment among those with less than a high school diploma, at 8.3 million, was essentially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021. However, the employment–population ratio for this group rose by 1.5 percentage points, to 42.7 percent in 2021. Employment increased by 4.3 percent over the year for high school graduates with no college, raising the level to 33.7 million. The employment–population ratio for this group increased by 1.7 percentage points over the year, to 52.7 percent. Employment among people with some college or an associate’s degree increased by 1.9 percent in 2021, to 34.1 million. The employment–population ratio for this group rose 1.8 percentage points, to 60.3 percent. Employment among people with a bachelor’s degree and higher increased 4.4 percent over the year, rising to 59.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The employment–population ratio for this group rose 1.3 percentage points, to 70.4 percent. Nevertheless, both measures remained below their prepandemic levels. (See table 3.)

Labor force participation rates increased slightly over the year for most race and ethnicity groups, with Asians showing the most improvement

Even as the unemployment rate declined to a level that is relatively low by historical standards and employment continued to grow, the net effect was a moderate increase in the labor force.¹⁷ The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percentage point over the year, to 61.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021; the rate was 63.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. The labor force participation rate increased for men by 0.2 percentage point, to 67.7 percent, and for women by 0.4 percentage point, to 56.3 percent. (See table 1 and chart 9.)

The labor force participation rate for Asians increased by 2.6 percentage points over the year, to 65.1 percent, slightly higher than the prepandemic rate of 64.4 percent. Labor force participation rates for Blacks and Hispanics edged up by 0.6 percentage point each in 2021. The rate for Blacks was 60.8 percent in the fourth quarter, while the rate for Hispanics was 66.0 percent. Hispanics had the highest participation rate among the major race and ethnicity groups. However, the rates for Blacks and Hispanics are still below their prepandemic levels. The labor force participation rate for Whites was unchanged over the year, at 61.6 percent, and remained below the prepandemic rate of 63.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See table 1.)

Recent improvements in relation to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in labor market conditions have narrowed the differences in the labor force participation rates among demographic groups. However, other factors help explain the relatively moderate increase in the labor force participation rate in 2021, such as people choosing not to work because of health risks, early retirements, and family-care duties.¹⁸

Growth in labor force participation rates was similar for young people and those of prime working age

The labor force participation rate for prime-working-age people, those ages 25 to 54, rose by 0.8 percentage point over the year, to 81.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Among people ages 16 to 24, the rate increased by 0.7 percentage point, to 56.0 percent. Within this group, the labor force participation rate for those ages 20 to 24 increased by 1.2 percentage points in 2021, to 71.7 percent. Although labor force participation rates for young workers have historically been lower than the rates for older age groups, they have rebounded more quickly than those of the other age groups since the COVID-19 pandemic began.¹⁹ The labor force participation rate for people ages 55 years and older was 38.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with 40.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Some researchers have suggested that this decline may reflect an increase in the number of early retirements, what has sometimes been called the “Great Resignation,” which could be dragging down the overall labor force participation rate.²⁰ (See table 2.)

Labor force participation rates changed little across different educational groups

For workers ages 25 years and older with less than a high school diploma, the labor force participation rate was 45.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, essentially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2020. (See table 3.) Although this rate is 0.9 percentage point below the rate for the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic, it is closer to the prepandemic rate than are the comparable rates for other educational attainment groups.²¹

The labor force participation rate for high school graduates with no college, at 55.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, was unchanged over the year but down by 2.4 percentage points from its prepandemic level. The rate for workers with some college or an associate’s degree, at 62.7 percent, was little changed from a year earlier and down by 2.0 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2019. The labor force participation rate for people with higher levels of education—those with a bachelor’s degree and higher—at 72.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, was also little changed from the prior year. The 2021 rate for this group was 1.7 percentage points below the prepandemic rate.

Employment rose substantially in all major occupation groups

Of the major occupation groups, the largest employment growth in 2021 occurred in service occupations, with an increase of 1.6 million workers, or 6.8 percent. (These are annual averages.) Service occupations saw the sharpest decline in employment at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2020. Within this occupational group, employment in food preparation and serving-related occupations rose sharply over the year. (See table 7.)

Table 7. Employment, by occupational group and gender, annual averages, 2020–21 (in thousands)
Occupational group	Total			Men			Women
Occupational group	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Change, 2020–21
Total, 16 years and older	147,795	152,581	4,786	78,560	80,829	2,269	69,234	71,752	2,518
Management, professional, and related occupations	63,644	64,744	1,100	30,734	31,109	375	32,910	33,636	726
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	27,143	27,864	721	15,028	15,231	203	12,114	12,633	519
Professional and related occupations	36,502	36,880	378	15,706	15,878	172	20,796	21,003	207
Service occupations	22,853	24,403	1,550	9,820	10,328	508	13,033	14,075	1,042
Healthcare support occupations	4,790	4,887	97	703	728	25	4,087	4,158	71
Protective service occupations	3,024	2,987	-37	2,310	2,276	-34	714	711	-3
Food preparation and serving related occupations	6,556	7,370	814	2,989	3,343	354	3,566	4,027	461
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5,084	5,482	398	3,036	3,198	162	2,048	2,285	237
Personal care and service occupations	3,399	3,676	277	781	783	2	2,618	2,893	275
Sales and office occupations	29,726	30,166	440	11,506	11,604	98	18,221	18,563	342
Sales and related occupations	14,168	14,369	201	7,261	7,219	-42	6,907	7,150	243
Office and administrative support occupations	15,558	15,797	239	4,244	4,384	140	11,314	11,413	99
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	13,357	13,959	602	12,607	13,181	574	750	778	28
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	1,045	1,061	16	793	804	11	252	257	5
Construction and extraction occupations	7,710	8,057	347	7,402	7,746	344	308	311	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,602	4,840	238	4,411	4,630	219	190	210	20
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	18,215	19,309	1,094	13,894	14,608	714	4,321	4,700	379
Production occupations	7,590	7,950	360	5,443	5,703	260	2,147	2,247	100
Transportation and material moving occupations	10,625	11,359	734	8,451	8,906	455	2,174	2,453	279
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Management, professional, and related occupations is the largest of the major occupational groups, accounting for about 42.4 percent of the total number of employed people in 2021. Employment in this group grew by 1.1 million from 2020 to 2021, or 1.7 percent. This occupational group had the smallest decline in employment at the onset of the pandemic. Within this group, employment in management, business, and financial operations expanded by 721,000 in 2021, and the number of workers in professional and related occupations was little changed.

Employment in production, transportation, and material-moving occupations increased by 6.0 percent over the year, to 19.3 million. Employment in this occupational group is up by 681,000 from its prepandemic level in 2019. Employment in sales and office occupations increased by 1.5 percent over the year, to 30.2 million. Employment in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations increased from 13.4 million in 2020 to 14.0 million in 2021, little changed from its prepandemic level of 14.3 million.

Number of self-employed workers continued to trend up

In general, during labor market downturns, employment drops, although the degree of the decline often varies by industry and occupation, depending on the underlying causes of the economic contraction. This was certainly the case during the recent recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This procyclical response affects many of the self-employed, whose businesses often suffer from the drop in demand for their products and services, sometimes resulting in the failure of the business. At the same time, a countercyclical effect could result in a rise in self-employment, if laid-off wage and salary workers decide to start businesses of their own.

The number of nonagricultural self-employed workers whose businesses were unincorporated declined sharply at the onset of the pandemic but was essentially the same as its prepandemic level by the first quarter of 2021. During 2021, the total number of nonagricultural self-employed trended up, reaching 9.3 million in the fourth quarter, up by 678,000 over the year.²² This amounts to an increase of 7.8 percent over the year, compared with a gain of 3.7 percent for total employment growth in nonagricultural industries. The increase coincides with complaints from many U.S. companies about not being able to find and retain enough employees in the aftermath of the pandemic.²³ (See table 8.)

Table 8. Employed people, by class of worker, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (in thousands)
Class of worker	Fourth quarter 2020	2021				Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Class of worker	Fourth quarter 2020	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Agriculture and related industries	2,464	2,329	2,292	2,281	2,272	-192
Wage and salary workers	1,576	1,537	1,551	1,547	1,471	-105
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	845	724	701	718	766	-79
Nonagricultural industries	147,218	147,947	149,308	151,110	152,804	5,586
Wage and salary workers	138,615	139,244	139,998	141,227	143,495	4,880
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	8,656	8,942	9,140	9,491	9,334	678
Note: Both agricultural and nonagricultural wage and salary workers include self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The nonagricultural self-employment rate—the proportion of total nonagricultural employment made up of the self-employed—was 6.0 percent at the end of 2021, compared with its prepandemic level of 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See chart 10.)

View Chart Data

Chart 10. Nonagricultural self-employment rate, quarterly averages, 1968–2021 (in percent)
Quarter	Self-employment rate
Q1 1968	6.7
Q2 1968	6.7
Q3 1968	6.7
Q4 1968	6.8
Q1 1969	6.8
Q2 1969	6.8
Q3 1969	6.8
Q4 1969	6.6
Q1 1970	6.6
Q2 1970	6.5
Q3 1970	6.7
Q4 1970	6.7
Q1 1971	6.8
Q2 1971	6.8
Q3 1971	6.6
Q4 1971	6.7
Q1 1972	6.7
Q2 1972	6.5
Q3 1972	6.5
Q4 1972	6.4
Q1 1973	6.5
Q2 1973	6.5
Q3 1973	6.4
Q4 1973	6.4
Q1 1974	6.4
Q2 1974	6.6
Q3 1974	6.6
Q4 1974	6.7
Q1 1975	6.6
Q2 1975	6.6
Q3 1975	6.6
Q4 1975	6.7
Q1 1976	6.6
Q2 1976	6.5
Q3 1976	6.5
Q4 1976	6.5
Q1 1977	6.6
Q2 1977	6.6
Q3 1977	6.7
Q4 1977	6.7
Q1 1978	6.7
Q2 1978	6.7
Q3 1978	6.6
Q4 1978	6.7
Q1 1979	6.8
Q2 1979	6.8
Q3 1979	6.9
Q4 1979	6.9
Q1 1980	7.0
Q2 1980	7.0
Q3 1980	7.1
Q4 1980	7.1
Q1 1981	7.0
Q2 1981	7.0
Q3 1981	7.1
Q4 1981	7.1
Q1 1982	7.1
Q2 1982	7.3
Q3 1982	7.4
Q4 1982	7.4
Q1 1983	7.5
Q2 1983	7.5
Q3 1983	7.5
Q4 1983	7.5
Q1 1984	7.6
Q2 1984	7.5
Q3 1984	7.4
Q4 1984	7.3
Q1 1985	7.3
Q2 1985	7.2
Q3 1985	7.3
Q4 1985	7.3
Q1 1986	7.1
Q2 1986	7.1
Q3 1986	7.3
Q4 1986	7.3
Q1 1987	7.3
Q2 1987	7.3
Q3 1987	7.3
Q4 1987	7.3
Q1 1988	7.3
Q2 1988	7.6
Q3 1988	7.4
Q4 1988	7.4
Q1 1989	7.4
Q2 1989	7.3
Q3 1989	7.3
Q4 1989	7.3
Q1 1990	7.3
Q2 1990	7.3
Q3 1990	7.3
Q4 1990	7.4
Q1 1991	7.5
Q2 1991	7.6
Q3 1991	7.5
Q4 1991	7.5
Q1 1992	7.3
Q2 1992	7.2
Q3 1992	7.3
Q4 1992	7.3
Q1 1993	7.4
Q2 1993	7.5
Q3 1993	7.4
Q4 1993	7.4
Q1 1994	7.4
Q2 1994	7.4
Q3 1994	7.3
Q4 1994	7.2
Q1 1995	7.1
Q2 1995	7.1
Q3 1995	7.2
Q4 1995	7.1
Q1 1996	7.1
Q2 1996	7.1
Q3 1996	7.0
Q4 1996	7.1
Q1 1997	7.2
Q2 1997	7.0
Q3 1997	6.8
Q4 1997	6.9
Q1 1998	6.8
Q2 1998	6.9
Q3 1998	6.8
Q4 1998	6.7
Q1 1999	6.6
Q2 1999	6.6
Q3 1999	6.6
Q4 1999	6.5
Q1 2000	6.8
Q2 2000	6.8
Q3 2000	6.8
Q4 2000	6.5
Q1 2001	6.7
Q2 2001	6.7
Q3 2001	6.7
Q4 2001	6.6
Q1 2002	6.4
Q2 2002	6.5
Q3 2002	6.6
Q4 2002	6.7
Q1 2003	6.7
Q2 2003	6.7
Q3 2003	6.8
Q4 2003	6.9
Q1 2004	6.8
Q2 2004	6.7
Q3 2004	6.9
Q4 2004	6.9
Q1 2005	6.9
Q2 2005	6.8
Q3 2005	6.6
Q4 2005	6.6
Q1 2006	6.8
Q2 2006	6.7
Q3 2006	6.6
Q4 2006	6.8
Q1 2007	6.6
Q2 2007	6.6
Q3 2007	6.6
Q4 2007	6.4
Q1 2008	6.4
Q2 2008	6.4
Q3 2008	6.4
Q4 2008	6.1
Q1 2009	6.4
Q2 2009	6.4
Q3 2009	6.5
Q4 2009	6.5
Q1 2010	6.5
Q2 2010	6.4
Q3 2010	6.3
Q4 2010	6.3
Q1 2011	6.3
Q2 2011	6.2
Q3 2011	6.0
Q4 2011	6.1
Q1 2012	6.1
Q2 2012	6.1
Q3 2012	6.2
Q4 2012	6.2
Q1 2013	6.0
Q2 2013	6.0
Q3 2013	6.1
Q4 2013	5.9
Q1 2014	5.9
Q2 2014	5.8
Q3 2014	5.9
Q4 2014	6.0
Q1 2015	5.8
Q2 2015	6.0
Q3 2015	5.8
Q4 2015	5.7
Q1 2016	5.8
Q2 2016	5.9
Q3 2016	5.7
Q4 2016	5.8
Q1 2017	5.7
Q2 2017	5.6
Q3 2017	5.6
Q4 2017	5.9
Q1 2018	5.8
Q2 2018	5.7
Q3 2018	5.6
Q4 2018	5.7
Q1 2019	5.6
Q2 2019	5.5
Q3 2019	5.6
Q4 2019	5.6
Q1 2020	5.6
Q2 2020	5.8
Q3 2020	5.9
Q4 2020	5.8
Q1 2021	5.9
Q2 2021	6.0
Q3 2021	6.2
Q4 2021	6.0
Note: The nonagricultural self-employment rate is the number of nonagricultural self-employed workers as a percentage of total nonagricultural employment. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Number of people employed part time for economic reasons declined over the year

Also referred to as involuntary part-time employment and thought of as one type of underemployment, the number of people who worked part time for economic reasons—those who worked less than 35 hours per week but would have preferred full-time employment—ended the fourth quarter of 2021 at 2.3 million lower than a year earlier, returning to prepandemic levels.²⁴ Historically, slack work or unfavorable business conditions, rather than an inability to find full-time work, have been the primary reason for working part time involuntarily. The number of involuntary part-time workers has been decreasing since it reached a high of 10.2 million in the second quarter of 2020. The number of people employed part time involuntarily, at 4.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, was little different from the level seen in 2019. (See chart 11.)

View Chart Data

Chart 11. Number of people employed part time for economic reasons, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2021 (in thousands)
Quarter	Part time for economic reasons	Slack work or business conditions	Could only find part-time work
Q1 1994	4,838	2,461	2,070
Q2 1994	4,801	2,463	1,983
Q3 1994	4,399	2,401	1,691
Q4 1994	4,460	2,409	1,754
Q1 1995	4,466	2,400	1,775
Q2 1995	4,477	2,430	1,730
Q3 1995	4,510	2,524	1,681
Q4 1995	4,462	2,556	1,618
Q1 1996	4,290	2,417	1,566
Q2 1996	4,368	2,375	1,636
Q3 1996	4,377	2,501	1,581
Q4 1996	4,254	2,267	1,651
Q1 1997	4,181	2,354	1,513
Q2 1997	4,142	2,347	1,466
Q3 1997	4,031	2,201	1,506
Q4 1997	3,928	2,235	1,392
Q1 1998	3,882	2,177	1,392
Q2 1998	3,756	2,137	1,288
Q3 1998	3,594	2,092	1,199
Q4 1998	3,397	1,951	1,148
Q1 1999	3,475	2,025	1,140
Q2 1999	3,416	1,995	1,090
Q3 1999	3,305	1,930	1,076
Q4 1999	3,220	1,909	1,007
Q1 2000	3,202	1,883	1,001
Q2 2000	3,226	1,920	1,000
Q3 2000	3,191	2,003	886
Q4 2000	3,296	2,030	906
Q1 2001	3,303	2,044	925
Q2 2001	3,507	2,256	961
Q3 2001	3,723	2,405	1,006
Q4 2001	4,382	2,925	1,138
Q1 2002	4,167	2,737	1,087
Q2 2002	4,117	2,714	1,110
Q3 2002	4,258	2,822	1,146
Q4 2002	4,321	2,872	1,158
Q1 2003	4,701	3,097	1,241
Q2 2003	4,653	3,146	1,255
Q3 2003	4,650	3,098	1,274
Q4 2003	4,808	3,123	1,345
Q1 2004	4,666	2,949	1,417
Q2 2004	4,533	2,811	1,428
Q3 2004	4,470	2,744	1,380
Q4 2004	4,598	2,849	1,404
Q1 2005	4,343	2,681	1,357
Q2 2005	4,342	2,651	1,373
Q3 2005	4,522	2,810	1,373
Q4 2005	4,201	2,604	1,254
Q1 2006	4,090	2,597	1,205
Q2 2006	4,110	2,610	1,162
Q3 2006	4,204	2,679	1,188
Q4 2006	4,243	2,753	1,200
Q1 2007	4,251	2,753	1,193
Q2 2007	4,376	2,859	1,220
Q3 2007	4,502	2,921	1,207
Q4 2007	4,479	2,980	1,220
Q1 2008	4,884	3,315	1,223
Q2 2008	5,349	3,709	1,324
Q3 2008	5,976	4,261	1,454
Q4 2008	7,343	5,422	1,559
Q1 2009	8,662	6,531	1,762
Q2 2009	9,015	6,788	1,937
Q3 2009	8,923	6,719	1,997
Q4 2009	9,064	6,561	2,155
Q1 2010	8,899	6,226	2,311
Q2 2010	8,866	6,200	2,348
Q3 2010	8,849	6,262	2,335
Q4 2010	8,881	5,990	2,477
Q1 2011	8,526	5,770	2,443
Q2 2011	8,552	5,777	2,477
Q3 2011	8,745	5,723	2,668
Q4 2011	8,425	5,559	2,454
Q1 2012	8,106	5,374	2,455
Q2 2012	8,029	5,231	2,508
Q3 2012	8,242	5,339	2,551
Q4 2012	8,104	5,060	2,650
Q1 2013	8,017	5,125	2,563
Q2 2013	8,002	5,010	2,597
Q3 2013	7,893	4,933	2,649
Q4 2013	7,827	4,930	2,596
Q1 2014	7,343	4,419	2,627
Q2 2014	7,395	4,441	2,572
Q3 2014	7,200	4,302	2,584
Q4 2014	6,926	4,151	2,433
Q1 2015	6,702	3,971	2,359
Q2 2015	6,544	3,860	2,309
Q3 2015	6,238	3,706	2,212
Q4 2015	6,019	3,514	2,194
Q1 2016	5,977	3,569	2,107
Q2 2016	6,097	3,704	2,053
Q3 2016	5,955	3,652	1,948
Q4 2016	5,747	3,456	1,955
Q1 2017	5,596	3,466	1,866
Q2 2017	5,304	3,208	1,769
Q3 2017	5,253	3,204	1,703
Q4 2017	4,848	2,998	1,570
Q1 2018	5,041	3,069	1,618
Q2 2018	4,909	3,050	1,506
Q3 2018	4,551	2,771	1,415
Q4 2018	4,610	2,844	1,500
Q1 2019	4,686	3,048	1,359
Q2 2019	4,486	2,778	1,382
Q3 2019	4,224	2,550	1,335
Q4 2019	4,230	2,659	1,260
Q1 2020	4,816	3,193	1,328
Q2 2020	10,211	9,159	853
Q3 2020	7,426	6,105	1,075
Q4 2020	6,454	5,131	1,098
Q1 2021	5,954	4,710	1,044
Q2 2021	5,043	3,814	1,006
Q3 2021	4,460	3,101	1,035
Q4 2021	4,198	2,869	1,034
Note: Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

At the end of 2020, men continued to make up slightly more than half of all involuntary part-time workers. The number of men who worked part time for economic reasons decreased by 1.1 million, or 34.4 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021, ending the year at 2.2 million. Over the same period, the number of women working part time for economic reasons decreased by 1.1 million, or 36.7 percent, to 1.9 million. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Unemployment rate for veterans remained lower than the rate for nonveterans

There were 18.0 million veterans ages 18 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population in the fourth quarter of 2021. Veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era account for the largest share of the veteran population, at 6.3 million, followed by veterans who served during Gulf War era II (4.6 million) and Gulf War era I (3.1 million). Nearly 3.9 million veterans served on active duty during “other service periods,” mainly between the Korean War and the Vietnam era and between the Vietnam era and Gulf War era I. Among veterans, women accounted for 10.7 percent of the total veteran population in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The unemployment rate for veterans was 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 (not seasonally adjusted), down by 2.1 percentage points over the year. This rate is down by 6.2 percentage points from its peak in the second quarter of 2020, when it was 9.8 percent. The unemployment rate for nonveterans, at 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, decreased by 2.6 percentage points over the year. The unemployment rate for male veterans, at 3.5 percent, decreased by 2.4 percentage points in 2021, while the jobless rate for female veterans, at 4.4 percent, changed little over the same period. The jobless rate for Gulf War-era II veterans (those who served from September 2001 to the present) decreased by 2.0 percentage points from a year earlier, to 4.1 percent. (See table 9.)

Table 9. Employment status of people 18 years and older, by veteran status, period of service, and gender, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Employment status, veteran status, and period of service	Total			Men			Women
Employment status, veteran status, and period of service	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Veterans, 18 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	18,319	17,951	-368	16,411	16,029	-382	1,908	1,921	13
Civilian labor force	8,721	8,409	-312	7,607	7,247	-360	1,114	1,162	48
Participation rate	47.6	46.8	-0.8	46.4	45.2	-1.2	58.4	60.5	2.1
Employed	8,222	8,102	-120	7,161	6,991	-170	1,062	1,111	49
Employment–population ratio	44.9	45.1	0.2	43.6	43.6	0.0	55.6	57.8	2.2
Unemployed	499	307	-192	446	256	-190	52	51	-1
Unemployment rate	5.7	3.6	-2.1	5.9	3.5	-2.4	4.7	4.4	-0.3
Gulf War-era II veterans
Civilian labor force	3,502	3,620	118	2,960	3,048	88	541	572	31
Participation rate	77.4	78.7	1.3	79.2	80.5	1.3	68.4	70.3	1.9
Employed	3,289	3,471	182	2,773	2,924	151	516	547	31
Employment–population ratio	72.7	75.5	2.8	74.2	77.2	3.0	65.2	67.3	2.1
Unemployed	213	149	-64	187	125	-62	26	25	-1
Unemployment rate	6.1	4.1	-2.0	6.3	4.1	-2.2	4.7	4.3	-0.4
Gulf War-era I veterans
Civilian labor force	2,257	2,257	0	1,933	1,911	-22	324	346	22
Participation rate	73.2	71.7	-1.5	74.4	72.0	-2.4	67.0	70.2	3.2
Employed	2,148	2,194	46	1,837	1,861	24	310	333	23
Employment–population ratio	69.7	69.7	0.0	70.7	70.1	-0.6	64.1	67.6	3.5
Unemployed	109	62	-47	95	49	-46	14	13	-1
Unemployment rate	4.8	2.8	-2.0	4.9	2.6	-2.3	4.3	3.7	-0.6
World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans
Civilian labor force	1,167	1,011	-156	1135	960	-175	33	51	18
Participation rate	17.5	16.1	-1.4	17.6	15.8	-1.8	14.0	23.0	9.0
Employed	1,111	971	-140	1080	925	-155	31	46	15
Employment–population ratio	16.6	15.4	-1.2	16.8	15.2	-1.6	13.5	20.8	7.3
Unemployed	56	40	-16	55	35	-20	1	5	4
Unemployment rate	4.8	3.9	-0.9	4.8	3.6	-1.2	^[1]	^[1]	^[1]
Veterans of other service periods
Civilian labor force	1,795	1,521	-274	1,579	1,328	-251	216	193	-23
Participation rate	44.5	38.9	-5.6	43.5	37.8	-5.7	54.0	49.0	-5.0
Employed	1,675	1,466	-209	1,470	1,281	-189	204	185	-19
Employment–population ratio	41.5	37.5	-4.0	40.5	36.5	-4.0	51.1	47.0	-4.1
Unemployed	121	55	-66	109	47	-62	12	8	-4
Unemployment rate	6.7	3.6	-3.1	6.9	3.6	-3.3	5.4	4.1	-1.3
Nonveterans, 18 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	233,980	235,053	1,073	105,461	106,245	784	128,519	128,808	289
Civilian labor force	149,779	151,277	1,498	76,442	77,328	886	73,337	73,949	612
Participation rate	64.0	64.4	0.4	72.5	72.8	0.3	57.1	57.4	0.3
Employed	140,099	145,399	5,300	71,356	74,289	2,933	68,743	71,110	2,367
Employment–population ratio	59.9	61.9	2.0	67.7	69.9	2.2	53.5	55.2	1.7
Unemployed	9,680	5,877	-3,803	5,086	3,039	-2,047	4,594	2,838	-1,756
Unemployment rate	6.5	3.9	-2.6	6.7	3.9	-2.8	6.3	3.8	-2.5
^[1] No data available, data do not meet publication criteria, or base is less than 60,000. Note: Veterans are men and women who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Nonveterans never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War era II (September 2001–present), Gulf War era I (August 1990–August 2001), Vietnam era (August 1964–April 1975), Korean War (July 1950–January 1955), World War II (December 1941–December 1946), and other service periods (all other periods). Veterans are only counted in one period of service: their most recent wartime period. Veterans who served in both a wartime period and any other service period are classified in the wartime period. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The labor force participation rate for veterans, at 46.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, changed little over the year, while the rate for nonveterans increased by 0.4 percentage point, to 64.4 percent. Labor force participation rates are generally lower for older people than they are for people of prime working age. Thus, the labor force participation rate for those who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era—who are all over the age of 60 and accounted for 35.1 percent of the veteran population—was 16.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, down by 1.4 percentage points over the year. By contrast, Gulf War-era II veterans, who tend to be younger, had a much higher participation rate, 78.7 percent, which was little changed from a year earlier. The employment–population ratio for veterans, at 45.1 percent, also changed little over the year, while the ratio for nonveterans rose by 2.0 percentage points, to reach 61.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. The employment–population ratio for Gulf War-era II veterans increased by 2.8 percentage points over the year, to 75.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Unemployment rate for people with a disability more than twice that of those with no disability

Many demographic groups faced challenging labor market conditions in 2021, including people with a disability. The unemployment rate for people with a disability, at 8.2 percent in the last quarter of 2021, was more than double the rate for those without a disability (3.7 percent). (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) The rate for people with a disability decreased by 3.3 percentage points in 2021, compared with a decrease of 2.6 percentage points for those without a disability.

Among the 31.9 million people ages 16 years and older with a disability in the fourth quarter of 2021, 7.2 million, or 22.7 percent, participated in the labor force. By contrast, the participation rate for people with no disability was 67.2 percent. The lower rate for people with a disability reflects, in part, the older age profile of those with a disability; older people, regardless of disability status, are less likely to be in the labor force. About half of all people with a disability were ages 65 years and older, nearly 3 times the share of those with no disability. (See table 10.)

Table 10. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by gender, age, and disability status, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Employment status, gender, and age	People with a disability			People with no disability
Employment status, gender, and age	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Total, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	29,880	31,859	1,979	231,200	230,165	-1,035
Civilian labor force	6,078	7,229	1,151	154,434	154,657	223
Participation rate	20.3	22.7	2.4	66.8	67.2	0.4
Employed	5,381	6,634	1,253	144,702	148,865	4,163
Employment–population ratio	18.0	20.8	2.8	62.6	64.7	2.1
Unemployed	697	595	-102	9,732	5,792	-3,940
Unemployment rate	11.5	8.2	-3.3	6.3	3.7	-2.6
Men, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	2,651	3,018	367	76,445	76,510	65
Participation rate	35.0	38.3	3.3	81.5	82.0	0.5
Employed	2,342	2,748	406	71,392	73,573	2,181
Employment–population ratio	30.9	34.9	4.0	76.1	78.9	2.8
Unemployed	310	270	-40	5,053	2,937	-2,116
Unemployment rate	11.7	8.9	-2.8	6.6	3.8	-2.8
Women, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	2,344	2,904	560	68,389	68,490	101
Participation rate	31.7	35.9	4.2	70.5	71.4	0.9
Employed	2,037	2,652	615	64,221	65,905	1,684
Employment–population ratio	27.5	32.7	5.2	66.2	68.7	2.5
Unemployed	307	252	-55	4,168	2,585	-1,583
Unemployment rate	13.1	8.7	-4.4	6.1	3.8	-2.3
Total, 65 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	14,907	15,887	980	40,429	41,006	577
Civilian labor force	1,083	1,306	223	9,600	9,657	57
Participation rate	7.3	8.2	0.9	23.7	23.6	-0.1
Employed	1,003	1,233	230	9,089	9,387	298
Employment–population ratio	6.7	7.8	1.1	22.5	22.9	0.4
Unemployed	80	73	-7	511	271	-240
Unemployment rate	7.4	5.6	-1.8	5.3	2.8	-2.5
Note: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Unemployment rate for foreign-born workers differed little from that of native-born workers

The foreign born accounted for 17.8 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force ages 16 years and older in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 17.0 percent a year earlier. For the past few years, the unemployment rate for the foreign born has been slightly lower than the jobless rate for the native born; however, after the rates for both groups peaked in the second quarter of 2020, the jobless rate for the foreign born remained slightly above the rate for the native born for the rest of 2020 and the first half of 2021. At the end of 2021, the jobless rate for the foreign born, at 3.9 percent, and the rate for the native born, at 4.0 percent, were nearly the same.

The unemployment rate for foreign-born people decreased more over the year (down by 3.3 percentage points) than did the rate for native-born people (down by 2.3 percentage points). The foreign-born jobless rate increased sharply in 2020, partly because of the relatively high concentration of foreign-born workers in the leisure and hospitality industry, which was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. This industry’s strong (though incomplete) recovery in 2021 may help explain the larger decrease in the foreign-born unemployment rate.²⁵

The employment–population ratio for the foreign born increased by 3.3 percentage points over the year, rising to 62.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the ratio for the native born increased by 1.5 percentage points, reaching 58.6 percent. (See table 11.)

Table 11. Employment status of the foreign- and native-born populations, by gender, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2020–21 (levels in thousands)
Employment status and nativity	Total			Men			Women
Employment status and nativity	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21	Fourth quarter 2020	Fourth quarter 2021	Change, fourth quarter 2020–21
Foreign born, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	42,523	43,890	1,367	20,442	21,386	944	22,081	22,503	422
Civilian labor force	27,314	28,740	1,426	15,692	16,575	883	11,623	12,165	542
Participation rate	64.2	65.5	1.3	76.8	77.5	0.7	52.6	54.1	1.5
Employed	25,340	27,628	2,288	14,712	15,999	1,287	10,628	11,630	1,002
Employment–population ratio	59.6	62.9	3.3	72.0	74.8	2.8	48.1	51.7	3.6
Unemployed	1,974	1,112	-862	979	576	-403	995	535	-460
Unemployment rate	7.2	3.9	-3.3	6.2	3.5	-2.7	8.6	4.4	-4.2
Native born, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	218,557	218,134	-423	105,852	105,390	-462	112,705	112,744	39
Civilian labor force	133,198	133,146	-52	69,322	69,044	-278	63,876	64,102	226
Participation rate	60.9	61.0	0.1	65.5	65.5	0.0	56.7	56.9	0.2
Employed	124,743	127,870	3,127	64,634	66,222	1,588	60,109	61,648	1,539
Employment–population ratio	57.1	58.6	1.5	61.1	62.8	1.7	53.3	54.7	1.4
Unemployed	8,455	5,276	-3,179	4,688	2,822	-1,866	3,767	2,454	-1,313
Unemployment rate	6.3	4.0	-2.3	6.8	4.1	-2.7	5.9	3.8	-2.1
Note: The foreign born are people residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents who were not U.S. citizens. This group includes legally admitted immigrants, refugees, students, temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants. The survey data, however, do not separately identify the number of people in these categories. The native born are people who were born in the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, or who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

The labor force participation rate increased for both the native born and the foreign born. Foreign-born people continued to have a higher labor force participation rate than native-born people. The rate for the foreign born, at 65.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, increased by 1.3 percentage points over the year. By way of comparison, the rate for the native born was about unchanged over the year, at 61.0 percent.

Share of workers who teleworked because of the pandemic decreased over the year

In May 2020, new questions were added to the CPS to help measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market.²⁶ The questions gathered information on whether people teleworked because of the pandemic, whether people were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business because of the pandemic, whether they received pay for the time they were unable to work, and whether people were unable to look for work because of the pandemic.²⁷ (These data are not seasonally adjusted and are available as monthly estimates.) The share of the employed who teleworked because of the COVID-19 pandemic trended downward during the second half of 2020 and throughout 2021. In December of 2021, 11.1 percent of employed people teleworked or worked from home because of the pandemic. (See table 12.)

Table 12. Percentage of people who teleworked, were prevented from working, were paid for hours not worked, and did not look for work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, not seasonally adjusted, January–December 2021
Month	Teleworked^[1]	Prevented from working^[2]	Paid for hours not worked^[3]	Did not look for work^[4]
Month	Teleworked^[1]	Prevented from working^[2]	Paid for hours not worked^[3]	Did not look for work^[4]
January	23.2	5.7	12.7	4.6
February	22.7	5.1	10.5	4.1
March	21.0	4.4	10.2	3.7
April	18.3	3.6	9.3	2.8
May	16.6	3.0	9.3	2.5
June	14.4	2.4	10.0	1.6
July	13.2	2.0	9.1	1.6
August	13.4	2.2	13.9	1.5
September	13.2	1.9	15.5	1.6
October	11.6	1.5	13.3	1.3
November	11.3	1.4	15.8	1.2
December	11.1	1.2	15.9	1.1
^[1] People who teleworked or worked from home because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. Only employed people are asked this question. This group does not include people whose telework was not related to the pandemic. ^[2] People who were unable to work during the 4 weeks prior to the survey because their employer closed or lost business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[3] People who received pay from their employer for hours not worked in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. The question is asked of people who were unable to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[4] People who were prevented from looking for work during the 4 weeks prior to the survey because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is asked of people who were not in the labor force at the time of the survey. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

In December 2021, 3.3 percent of workers ages 16 to 24 had teleworked in the 4 weeks prior to the survey because of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with 13.0 percent of workers ages 25 to 54 and 10.2 percent of workers ages 55 years and older. Although some workers were able to continue to work remotely in 2021, telework was not a viable option for people who work in food preparation and serving-related occupations (who tend to be younger), and this was reflected in the data on COVID-19 pandemic-related telework. (See table 13.)

Table 13. Employed people who teleworked or worked at home for pay at any time in the 4 weeks prior to the survey because of the COVID-19 pandemic, by selected characteristics, December 2021 (levels in thousands)
Characteristic	December 2021
	Total employed	People who teleworked because of the COVID-19 pandemic		Percent distribution
	Total employed	Total	Percent of total employed	Total employed	People who teleworked because of the COVID-19 pandemic
Total, 16 years and over	155,732	17,358	11.1	100.0	100.0
16 to 24 years	18,825	620	3.3	12.1	3.6
25 to 54 years	100,016	12,988	13.0	64.2	74.8
55 years and over	36,891	3,750	10.2	23.7	21.6
Total, 25 years and over	136,907	16,738	12.2	100.0	100.0
Less than a high school diploma	8,271	80	1.0	6.0	0.5
High school graduates, no college^[1]	34,154	1,184	3.5	24.9	7.1
Some college or associate’s degree	34,335	2,566	7.5	25.1	15.3
Bachelor’s degree and higher^[2]	60,147	12,908	21.5	43.9	77.1
Bachelor’s degree only	37,052	7,268	19.6	27.1	43.4
Advanced degree	23,096	5,639	24.4	16.9	33.7
^[1] This category includes people with a high school diploma or equivalent. ^[2] This category includes people with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees. Note: People who teleworked because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are those who teleworked or worked at home for pay specifically because of the pandemic. This does not include those whose telework was unrelated to the pandemic, such as those who worked entirely from home before the pandemic began. Data are not seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

People with higher levels of educational attainment were more likely to telework because of the COVID-19 pandemic than were those with less education. This largely reflects the occupational and industry differences among these workers. In December 2021, among workers ages 25 years and older, 24.4 percent of people with an advanced degree and 19.6 percent of those with only a bachelor’s degree had teleworked or worked from home because of the pandemic in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. By contrast, only 1.0 percent of people with less than a high school diploma had teleworked in the prior 4 weeks because of the pandemic.

In May 2020, 49.8 million people (19.2 percent of the population) reported that at some point during the 4 weeks prior to the survey they were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure includes people whose hours had been reduced and those who did not work at all. By December 2021, the number of people unable to work because of the pandemic had decreased considerably, to 3.1 million, or 1.2 percent of the population ages 16 years and older.

People who could not work because of the COVID-19 pandemic were asked if they had received any pay from their employer for hours they did not work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. In May 2020, 17.6 percent of those unable to work because of the pandemic received at least some pay for the hours they did not work. This estimate was slightly lower in December 2021 (15.9 percent).

People who were not in the labor force were asked if the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented them from looking for work in the previous 4 weeks. In May 2020, 9.7 million people did not look for work because of the pandemic. In December 2021, 1.1 million were prevented from looking for work, down by 3.4 million from a year earlier.

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers increased in 2021, but at a considerably slower pace than inflation

Median weekly earnings were $998 in 2021, up by 1.4 percent from 2020.²⁸ (Data are annual averages.) During the same period, inflation—as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)—increased by 4.7 percent. Real median usual weekly earnings (adjusted with the use of the CPI-U) showed a decline of 3.1 percent from 2020.²⁹ (See table 14.) Women’s median weekly earnings increased more than those of men; however, changes in median weekly earnings during the year should be interpreted with caution because they continue to reflect the impact of the pandemic on the labor market.³⁰ Women’s earnings increased by 2.4 percent over the year while men’s earnings increased by 1.4 percent. The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio edged up to 83.1 percent in 2021. In 1979, the first year for which comparable data on usual weekly earnings are available, women’s earnings were 62.3 percent of men’s earnings. (See chart 12.)

Table 14. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by selected characteristics, annual averages, 2020–21
Characteristic	Current dollars			Constant (1982–84) dollars
	2020	2021	Percent change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Percent change, 2020–21
	2020	2021	Percent change, 2020–21	2020	2021	Percent change, 2020–21
Total, 16 years and older	$984	$998	1.4	$380	$368	-3.1
Men	1,082	1,097	1.4	418	405	-3.2
Women	891	912	2.4	344	337	-2.2
White	1,003	1,018	1.5	388	376	-3.1
Men	1,110	1,125	1.4	429	415	-3.2
Women	905	925	2.2	350	341	-2.4
Black or African American	794	801	0.9	307	296	-3.6
Men	830	825	-0.6	321	304	-5.1
Women	764	776	1.6	295	286	-3.0
Asian	1,310	1,328	1.4	506	490	-3.2
Men	1,447	1,453	0.4	559	536	-4.1
Women	1,143	1,141	-0.2	442	421	-4.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	758	777	2.5	293	287	-2.1
Men	797	820	2.9	308	303	-1.7
Women	705	718	1.8	272	265	-2.7
Total, 25 years and older	1,029	1,057	2.7	398	390	-1.9
Less than a high school diploma	619	626	1.1	239	231	-3.4
High school graduate, no college	781	809	3.6	302	299	-1.1
Some college or associate’s degree	903	925	2.4	349	341	-2.2
Bachelor’s degree or higher	1,421	1,452	2.2	549	536	-2.4
Note: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers is used to convert current dollars to constant (1982–84) dollars. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

View Chart Data

Chart 12. Women’s median usual weekly earnings as a percentage of men’s, full-time wage and salary workers, annual averages, 1979–2021 (in percent)
Year	Women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio
1979	62.3
1980	64.2
1981	64.4
1982	65.7
1983	66.5
1984	67.6
1985	68.1
1986	69.5
1987	69.8
1988	70.2
1989	70.1
1990	71.9
1991	74.2
1992	75.8
1993	77.1
1994	76.4
1995	75.5
1996	75.0
1997	74.4
1998	76.3
1999	76.5
2000	76.9
2001	76.4
2002	77.9
2003	79.4
2004	80.4
2005	81.0
2006	80.8
2007	80.2
2008	79.9
2009	80.2
2010	81.2
2011	82.2
2012	80.9
2013	82.1
2014	82.5
2015	81.1
2016	81.9
2017	81.8
2018	81.1
2019	81.5
2020	82.3
2021	83.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

For both men and women, earnings were lowest for those ages 16 to 24, followed by 25- to 34-year-olds. Median weekly earnings of those ages 35 to 64 ranged between $1,241 to $1,295 for men and $976 to $1,012 for women. The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio was higher among younger workers than among older workers. For example, the ratio was 93.1 percent for 16- to 24-year-olds, compared with 78.1 percent among 45- to 54-year-olds. (See chart 13.)

View Chart Data

Chart 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by age and gender, annual averages, 2021
Age	Men	Women
Total, 16 years and older	$1,097	$912
16 to 24 years	650	605
25 to 34 years	972	881
35 to 44 years	1,241	992
45 to 54 years	1,295	1,012
55 to 64 years	1,256	976
65 years and older	1,129	867
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings increased for all groups. In 2021, earnings increased by 2.5 percent for Hispanics ($777), 1.5 percent for Whites ($1,018), 1.4 percent for Asians ($1,328), and 0.9 percent for Blacks ($801). The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity; the ratio was higher among Blacks and Hispanics. White women earned 82.2 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 94.1 percent for Black women, 78.5 percent for Asian women, and 87.6 percent for Hispanic women.

Among workers ages 25 years and older, high school graduates with no college had the largest over-the-year increase in median weekly earnings compared with other educational attainment groups. Earnings for high school graduates rose by 3.6 percent, to $809 in 2021. (See table 14.)

Among the major occupational groups, people employed full time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings: $1,609 for men and $1,222 for women. As has historically been the case, men ($723) and women ($598) employed in service occupations earned the least in 2021. (See table 15.)

Table 15. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by occupation and gender, annual averages, 2020–21
Occupation and gender	Number of workers (in thousands)		Median weekly earnings
Occupation and gender	2020	2021	2020	2021	Percent change, 2020–21
Total, 16 years and older	110,387	114,316	$984	$998	1.4
Management, professional, and related occupations	50,023	51,166	1,356	1,390	2.5
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	20,811	21,529	1,461	1,482	1.4
Professional and related occupations	29,213	29,637	1,270	1,335	5.1
Service occupations	13,771	14,630	621	644	3.7
Sales and office occupations	21,165	21,748	809	826	2.1
Sales and related occupations	8,958	9,281	880	887	0.8
Office and administrative support occupations	12,207	12,467	781	806	3.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	10,690	11,182	905	919	1.5
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	787	800	589	623	5.8
Construction and extraction occupations	5,826	6,171	906	904	-0.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,077	4,211	984	1,017	3.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	14,738	15,590	746	774	3.8
Production occupations	6,820	7,107	775	809	4.4
Transportation and material moving occupations	7,917	8,483	719	738	2.6
Men, 16 years and older	60,911	62,928	1,082	1,097	1.4
Management, professional, and related occupations	24,090	24,561	1,578	1,609	2.0
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	11,082	11,231	1,667	1,672	0.3
Professional and related occupations	13,008	13,330	1,532	1,555	1.5
Service occupations	6,740	7,000	704	723	2.7
Sales and office occupations	8,435	8,677	956	970	1.5
Sales and related occupations	4,991	5,090	1,046	1,049	0.3
Office and administrative support occupations	3,445	3,587	868	899	3.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	10,152	10,635	917	930	1.4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	600	651	608	637	4.8
Construction and extraction occupations	5,635	5,965	910	908	-0.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3,917	4,019	991	1,023	3.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	11,494	12,056	796	825	3.6
Production occupations	5,055	5,251	841	884	5.1
Transportation and material moving occupations	6,439	6,804	759	786	3.6
Women, 16 years and older	49,476	51,388	891	912	2.4
Management, professional, and related occupations	25,933	26,605	1,164	1,222	5.0
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	9,729	10,299	1,274	1,306	2.5
Professional and related occupations	16,204	16,306	1,121	1,167	4.1
Service occupations	7,032	7,630	574	598	4.2
Sales and office occupations	12,729	13,071	746	766	2.7
Sales and related occupations	3,967	4,191	715	720	0.7
Office and administrative support occupations	8,762	8,880	756	779	3.0
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	538	547	682	696	2.1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	187	149	528	585	10.8
Construction and extraction occupations	191	207	796	720	-9.5
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	160	192	801	836	4.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	3,243	3,535	614	638	3.9
Production occupations	1,765	1,856	630	653	3.7
Transportation and material moving occupations	1,478	1,679	600	624	4.0
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Summary

In summary, major employment and unemployment measures from the CPS continued to show improvement in 2021. The national unemployment rate trended down in each quarter of 2021, reaching 4.2 percent by the end of the year. The jobless rate decreased for men and women, as well as for all major race and ethnicity groups. The unemployment rate decreased among all occupations, with the sharpest decline in service occupations. The employment–population ratio increased by 1.8 percentage points, to 59.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the labor force participation rate improved at a much slower pace, rising by 0.3 percentage point to reach 61.8 percent by the end of the year. The level of self-employment in nonagricultural industries increased throughout 2021. The percentage of people who teleworked because of the COVID-19 pandemic declined throughout 2021 and ended the year at 11.1 percent.

Suggested citation:

Roxanna Edwards, Lawrence S. Essien, and Michael Daniel Levinstein, "U.S. labor market shows improvement in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on the economy," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2022, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2022.16

Notes

¹ The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the official arbiter of the beginning and ending dates of recessions and expansions in the United States. According to NBER, the most recent economic peak occurred in February 2020, and a trough occurred in April 2020. Or, in terms of quarters, the economic peak occurred in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a trough occurred in the second quarter of 2020. For the quarterly analysis in this article, the NBER-designated quarterly dates are used. According to NBER, the “trough” of a recession marks the beginning of an expansion, and the “peak” of an expansion marks the beginning of a recession. The February–April 2020 recession was the shortest recession ever identified by NBER. For more information, see “U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions” (National Bureau of Economic Research, last updated July 19, 2021), https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions.

² For more information, see “Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the Employment Situation news release and data” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified January 7, 2022), https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.

³ Although data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) are published monthly, the data analyzed in this article are seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, and all over-the-year changes are comparisons of fourth-quarter 2020 data with fourth-quarter 2021 data, unless otherwise noted.

⁴ In the CPS, unemployed people are defined as those ages 16 years and older who were not employed during the survey reference week, had actively searched for work during the 4 weeks prior to the survey, and were available for work. People who were on temporary layoff and available for work are counted as unemployed and do not have to have searched for work during the reference period.

⁵ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces two sets of national employment estimates each month from two different surveys: the estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the Current Employment Statistics survey, also known as the establishment or payroll survey; and the estimate of total civilian employment, based on the CPS, also called the household survey. The two surveys use different definitions of employment, as well as different survey and estimation methods. For more information on the two monthly employment measures, see “Comparing employment from the BLS household and payroll surveys,” Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified February 4, 2022), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.htm.

⁶ The duration of joblessness is the length of time (through the current reference week) that people classified as unemployed have been looking for work. This measure refers to the duration of the current spell of unemployment, rather than to that of a completed spell. Data for 27 weeks or longer are seasonally adjusted. Data for 52 weeks or longer are not seasonally adjusted.

⁷ Research suggests that, to some extent, the decrease in the number of long-term unemployed over the year can be explained by federal unemployment benefits that ended at the end of the third quarter of 2021, pushing down the number of long-term unemployed.For more information on the expiration of federal benefits, see Jim Tankersly and Ben Casselman, “Unemployment benefits expire for millions without pushback from Biden,” The New York Times, September 6, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/business/economy/unemployment-benefits.html.

⁸ For more information about duration of unemployment in 2020, see “36.9 percent of unemployed jobless 27 weeks or more as pandemic continues, November 2020,” The Economics Daily (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 9, 2020), www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/36-point-9-percent-of-unemployed-jobless-27-weeks-or-more-as-pandemic-continues-november-2020.htm.

⁹ The CPS collects data on the different reasons that people are unemployed, including being on temporary layoff. Unemployed people on temporary layoff are those who (1) said they were laid off or were not at work during the survey reference week because of layoff (temporary or indefinite) or slack work or business conditions, (2) have been given a date to return or expect to be recalled within the next 6 months, and (3) could have returned to work if they had been recalled (except for those who had a temporary illness that prevented them from returning to work). Unlike other unemployed people, those on temporary layoff do not need to be actively looking for work to be classified as unemployed. Pay status is not part of the criteria for being classified as unemployed on temporary layoff. People absent from work because of temporary layoff are classified as unemployed on temporary layoff, whether or not they were paid during the time they were off work. Since March 2020, household survey interviewers have been instructed to classify employed people absent from work because of temporary, pandemic-related business closures or cutbacks as unemployed on temporary layoff. However, some workers affected by the pandemic who should have been classified as unemployed on temporary layoff were instead misclassified as employed but not at work. The share of responses that may have been misclassified was highest in the early months of the pandemic and has been considerably lower since. If the misclassified workers who were recorded as employed but not at work for the entire survey reference week had been classified as “unemployed on temporary layoff,” the total number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate would have been higher than reported. For more information, see “Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the Employment Situation news release and data,” especially question 12, “Household survey: What is the misclassification issue?”

¹⁰ Some research has suggested that the number of reentrants to the labor force will increase as the economy improves, as some workers who left the labor force during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may reenter the labor market. See, for example, Rakesh Kochhar and Jesse Bennett, “U.S. Labor market inches back from the COVID-19 shock, but recovery is far from complete” (Pew Research Center, April 14, 2021), https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/14/u-s-labor-market-inches-back-from-the-covid-19-shock-but-recovery-is-far-from-complete/.

¹¹ Beginning with data for January 2020, the CPS has classified occupations according to the 2018 Census occupational classification system, which is derived from the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The 2018 SOC system replaced the earlier 2010 Census occupational classification based on the 2010 SOC system, which was used in the CPS from January 2011 through December 2019. As a result of this change, CPS occupational data from January 2020 and later are not comparable with occupational data from earlier years. Although the names of the broad- and intermediate-level occupational groups in the 2018 SOC system remained the same, some detailed occupations were reclassified between the broader groups, which substantially affects data comparability over time. For example, within sales and office occupations, the office and administrative support occupations group is now smaller in scope. (The titles of the groups were unchanged.) Stock clerks and order fillers, which employed 1.5 million people in 2019, moved out of the broad group office and administrative support occupations and into transportation and material-moving occupations. Similarly, computer operators, which employed 72,000 people in 2019, moved out of office and administrative support occupations and into computer and mathematical occupations. In addition, within production, transportation, and material-moving occupations, the transportation and material-moving occupations group is now larger in scope because it includes stock clerks and order fillers. Finally, some detailed occupations were reclassified but remained in the same broad occupation category—within service occupations, for example, personal care aides, which employed 1.5 million people in 2019, moved from personal care and service occupations to healthcare support occupations. For more information, see “Industry and occupation classification” (U.S. Census Bureau, last revised October 8, 2021), https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/methodology/industry-and-occupation-classification.html.

¹² For more information, see Steven E. Haugen, “Measures of labor underutilization from the Current Population Survey,” Working Paper 424 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009), https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2009/pdf/ec090020.pdf. See also John E. Bregger and Steven E. Haugen, “BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment measures,” Monthly Labor Review, October 1995, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1995/10/art3full.pdf.

¹³ For more information, see “Research series on labor force status flows from the Current Population Survey,” Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified October 8, 2015), www.bls.gov/cps/cps_flows.htm.

¹⁴ For more information, see Steven F. Hipple, “People who are not in the labor force: why aren’t they working?” Beyond the Numbers, vol. 4, no. 15 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2015), www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-4/people-who-are-not-in-the-labor-force-why-arent-they-working.htm.

¹⁵ “People not in the labor force who want a job” is a measure of people who reported wanting a job without having necessarily looked for one; this group includes all people who responded “yes” to the question, “Do you currently want a job, either full or part time?”

¹⁶ For more information on employment declines in the first year of the pandemic, see “Employment trends of Asians and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders,” Commissioner’s Corner (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 24, 2021), https://www.bls.gov/blog/2021/employment-trends-of-asians-and-native-hawaiians-and-other-pacific-islanders.htm.

¹⁷ For more information, see Alyssa Flowers and Andrew Van Dam, “The most unusual job market in modern American history, explained,” The Washington Post, December 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/29/job-market-2021/.

¹⁸ For more information, see Katia Dmitrieva and Jill R Shah, “These out-of-work Americans tell us job market turmoil is anything but transitory,” Bloomberg Businessweek, October 14, 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-10-14/why-aren-t-out-of-work-americans-going-back-to-their-jobs.

¹⁹ See Mark Wasson, “Rising wages draw teen workers across region,” West Central Tribune, December 27, 2021, https://www.wctrib.com/business/rising-wages-draw-teen-workers-across-region.

²⁰ For more information on the “Great Resignation,” see Andrew Van Dam “The latest twist in the ‘Great Resignation’: retiring but delaying Social Security,” The Washington Post, November 1, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/01/latest-twist-great-resignation-retiring-delaying-social-security/. See also Peter Coy, “The pandemic prompted people to retire early. Will they return to work?,” The New York Times, November 17, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/opinion/retirement-pandemic.html.

²¹ For more on this issue, see Jeanna Smialek and David McCabe, “The luckiest workers in America? Teenagers,” The New York Times, May 30, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/30/business/economy/pandemic-jobs-teenagers.html.

²² Since the late 1940s, data on self-employment have been collected regularly as part of the CPS. In addition to classifying employment by occupation and industry, the CPS subdivides the employed by “class of worker”—that is, wage and salary employees, self-employed, and unpaid family workers. In 1967, it became possible to identify another group of self-employed workers: those who reported in the CPS they were self-employed and had incorporated their businesses. Individuals choose to incorporate their businesses for several reasons, including legal and tax considerations. Since 1967, the official estimates of self-employment published by BLS have included only the unincorporated self-employed. Although it is possible to identify the incorporated self-employed separately, these individuals are counted as wage and salary workers in the official statistics because, from a legal standpoint, they are employees of their own businesses. For more information, see Steven F. Hipple and Laurel A. Hammond, “Self-employment in the United States,” Spotlight on Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2016), https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2016/self-employment-in-the-united-states/.

²³ See Josh Mitchell and Kathryn Dill, “Workers quit jobs in droves to become their own bosses,” The Wall Street Journal, November 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-quit-jobs-in-droves-to-become-their-own-bosses-11638199199. See also Eric Morath, “Millions are unemployed. Why can’t companies find workers?,” The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/millions-are-unemployed-why-cant-companies-find-workers-11620302440.

²⁴ BLS produces measures of people at work part time for economic and noneconomic reasons from the CPS. People at work part time for economic reasons, also referred to as involuntary part-time workers, include those who gave an economic reason when asked why they worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week (the week including the 12th of the month). Economic reasons include the following: slack work, unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, and seasonal declines in demand. People who usually work part time and were at work part time during the reference week must indicate that they wanted and were available for full-time work to be classified as part time for economic reasons.

²⁵ See Rakesh Kochhar and Jesse Bennett, “Immigrants in the U.S. experienced higher unemployment in the pandemic but have closed the gap” (Pew Research Center, July 26, 2021), https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/26/immigrants-in-u-s-experienced-higher-unemployment-in-the-pandemic-but-have-closed-the-gap/.

²⁶ For more information about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market, see “Supplemental data measuring the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market,” Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified April 22, 2022), https://www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.

²⁷ People did not have to telework for the entire time that they worked to be counted among those who telework. People whose telework was not related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those who worked entirely from home before the pandemic, are not included in this measure.

²⁸ Data are annual averages and are in current dollars. The CPS data on earnings represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips typically received. For multiple jobholders, only earnings received at their main job are included. Earnings reported on a nonweekly basis are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term “usual” reflects each survey respondent’s understanding of the term. If the respondent asks for a definition of “usual,” interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months. Wage and salary workers are defined as those who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. This definition includes both public- and private-sector employees but excludes all self-employed people, regardless of whether their businesses are incorporated or unincorporated. Earnings comparisons made in this article are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that help explain earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization. Finally, full-time workers are those who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their main job.

²⁹ An unusually large increase in median weekly earnings occurred in the second quarter of 2020, but that reflected the precipitous declines in employment among lower paid workers (who were disproportionately affected by job loss related to the pandemic) compared with higher paid workers. When lower paid workers lost their jobs, they dropped out of the distribution of earnings, and this put upward pressure on the median (the midpoint of the earnings distribution). This large and abrupt shift in the earnings distribution during the year led to an increase in earnings in 2020; however, the underlying rate of growth in worker’s earnings is difficult to discern because of the sudden and dramatic shift in the earnings distribution.

³⁰ The composition of the labor force and base effects help explain wage growth after the economy lost millions of jobs in April 2020. For more information, see Chair Cecilia Rouse and Martha Gimbel, “The pandemic’s effect on measured wage growth,” Council of Economic Advisors (White House, April 19, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/04/19/the-pandemics-effect-on-measured-wage-growth/.

About the Author

Roxanna Edwards
edwards.roxanna@bls.gov

Roxanna Edwards is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lawrence S. Essien
essien.lawrence@bls.gov

Lawrence S. Essien is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Michael Daniel Levinstein
levinstein.michael@bls.gov

Michael Daniel Levinstein is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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