U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
CPS CPS Program Links
HOUSEHOLD DATA
NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
A-38. Persons not in the labor force by desire and availability for work, age, and sex [In thousands]
Category Total Age Sex
Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021		 16 to 24
years		 25 to 54
years		 55 years
and over		 Men Women
Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Dec.
2021

Total not in the labor force

 101,213 100,440 17,338 16,883 23,877 22,747 59,998 60,810 41,723 41,493 59,490 58,947

Do not want a job now(1)

 94,125 94,916 15,614 15,534 20,458 20,199 58,054 59,183 38,335 38,735 55,790 56,182

Want a job(1)

 7,088 5,524 1,724 1,349 3,419 2,548 1,945 1,627 3,388 2,759 3,699 2,765

Did not search for work in previous year

 4,234 3,377 1,050 828 1,850 1,396 1,334 1,152 1,991 1,612 2,243 1,765

Searched for work in previous year(2),
but not in past 4 weeks

 2,854 2,147 673 520 1,569 1,152 611 475 1,397 1,147 1,457 1,000

Not available to work now

 656 476 161 154 400 276 96 46 246 223 411 253

Marginally attached (available to work now)(3)

 2,197 1,671 513 366 1,170 876 515 428 1,151 924 1,046 747

Discouraged over job prospects(4)

 661 468 149 78 377 251 136 139 418 279 243 189

Reasons other than discouragement

 1,536 1,203 364 288 793 626 379 289 733 645 803 558

Family responsibilities

 188 170 27 33 115 86 46 51 70 74 118 96

In school or training

 129 171 94 108 27 62 8 1 55 112 74 58

Ill health or disability

 137 131 16 17 65 67 56 46 83 62 54 69

Other(5)

 1,082 732 227 130 586 411 269 191 525 397 557 335

Footnotes
(1) Includes some persons who are not asked if they want a job, such as passive jobseekers.
(2) Persons who had a job in the prior 12 months must have searched since the end of that job.
(3) Persons "marginally attached to the labor force" are those 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 past 4 weeks.
(4) Discouraged workers are persons marginally attached to the labor force who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks 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.
(5) Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as child-care and transportation problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not ascertained.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

Last Modified Date: January 07, 2022