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1.5 million people marginally attached to the labor force in April 2017
May 10, 2017
In April 2017, 1.5 million people were marginally attached to the labor force, down by 181,000 from April 2016. These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
People marginally attached to the labor force, not seasonally adjusted, April 2007 to April 2017
Month
Marginally attached
Discouraged workers
Other people marginally attached to the labor force
Apr 2007
1,391,000
399,000
992,000
Apr 2008
1,414,000
412,000
1,002,000
Apr 2009
2,089,000
740,000
1,350,000
Apr 2010
2,432,000
1,197,000
1,234,000
Apr 2011
2,466,000
989,000
1,477,000
Apr 2012
2,363,000
968,000
1,395,000
Apr 2013
2,347,000
835,000
1,512,000
Apr 2014
2,160,000
783,000
1,378,000
Apr 2015
2,115,000
756,000
1,360,000
Apr 2016
1,715,000
568,000
1,146,000
Apr 2017
1,534,000
455,000
1,080,000
Among the marginally attached in April 2017, 455,000 were discouraged workers, a decrease of 113,000 from April 2016. Discouraged workers are people not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. Other persons marginally attached to the labor forces describes people who had not searched for work in 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
United States Department of Labor
