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Reentrants to the labor force 32.2 percent of total unemployed in March 2019

April 10, 2019

The unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in March, and the number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 6.2 million. Reentrants to the labor force were the largest share of total unemployed at 32.2 percent. Job losers not on layoff were 31.4 percent and job losers on layoff were 14.1 percent.

Reason for unemployment as a percent of total unemployed, March 2018–March 2019, seasonally adjusted
Month Job losers total Job losers on layoff Job losers not on layoff Job leavers Reentrants to labor force New entrants to labor force

Mar 2018

47.4% 13.2% 34.2% 13.1% 30.0% 9.4%

Apr 2018

46.4 13.5 32.8 12.7 31.3 9.6

May 2018

46.8 13.4 33.3 13.7 30.3 9.2

Jun 2018

46.9 13.8 33.1 12.3 31.9 8.9

Jul 2018

48.1 14.1 34.0 13.4 29.0 9.5

Aug 2018

46.4 13.8 32.6 14.0 30.1 9.5

Sep 2018

46.5 13.5 33.0 12.3 31.4 9.8

Oct 2018

46.8 13.0 33.8 12.0 31.3 9.9

Nov 2018

47.4 13.4 34.0 11.6 31.4 9.6

Dec 2018

46.2 12.1 34.1 13.3 31.1 9.3

Jan 2019

47.9 14.6 33.3 12.5 30.2 9.4

Feb 2019

45.9 13.2 32.7 13.5 30.6 10.0

Mar 2019

45.5 14.1 31.4 12.5 32.2 9.8

Job leavers accounted for 12.5 percent of the unemployed in March. About 1 in 10 unemployed people were new entrants to the labor force looking for their first job.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. People are grouped into four main reasons for their unemployment: (1) job losers ; (2) job leavers; (3) reentrants; and (4) new entrants. Job losers include people on temporary layoff and people not on temporary layoff. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — March 2019." We also have more charts on employment, unemployment, and the labor force.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Reentrants to the labor force 32.2 percent of total unemployed in March 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/reentrants-to-the-labor-force-32-point-2-percent-of-total-unemployed-in-march-2019.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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