About the Author

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.

Greg Owens
owens.greg@bls.gov

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

Unemployment rate returned to its prepandemic level in 2022

The U.S. labor market logged another year of recovery in 2022. Unemployment continued to decline early in the year and then leveled off. In the fourth quarter, both the number of unemployed people, at 5.9 million, and the unemployment rate, at 3.6 percent, were on par with levels recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total employment, as measured by the Current Population Survey, continued to expand in 2022. The employment–population ratio, at 60.0 percent in the fourth quarter, increased over the year, but the labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent, changed little. Both measures remained below their prepandemic levels.

In 2022, the U.S. labor market continued to recover from the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.^{^[1]}In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate averaged 3.6 percent, 0.6 percentage point below the rate from a year earlier.^{^[2]} The number of unemployed people, at 5.9 million in the fourth quarter, decreased over the year. Both measures returned to their prepandemic levels.^{^[3]}

Total employment, as measured by the Current Population Survey (CPS), rose over the year.^{^[4]}The employment–population ratio increased to 60.0 percent, but it remained below its prepandemic value. The labor force participation rate (the percentage of the population ages 16 and older who are either employed or actively seeking employment), at 62.2 percent in the fourth quarter, was essentially unchanged over the year (after removing the effects of annual adjustments to population controls) and remained below its prepandemic level. (See appendix A for more information about the CPS, as well as the Current Employment Statistics survey. See appendix B for more information on the annual adjustments to CPS population controls.)

This article highlights a broad range of economic indicators from the CPS, providing a picture of labor market performance in 2022, both overall and for various demographic groups. The article also provides 2022 updates on the trends in usual weekly earnings, labor force flows, the number of self-employed people, and it summarizes recent changes in the employment situations of veterans, people with a disability, and the foreign born.

The number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate declined for all major demographic groups

Both the number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate continued to decline in early 2022. From spring through the rest of the year, however, both measures held fairly steady. This general pattern held across most major demographic groups. The number of unemployed people was 5.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, down by roughly 900,000 from a year earlier. The unemployment rate averaged 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is 0.6 percentage point below the rate in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See table 1.) With the continued improvement in 2022, the unemployment rate returned to its prepandemic rate. (See chart 1.)

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Total, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	162,155	163,932	164,077	164,441	164,713
Participation rate	61.9	62.3	62.2	62.2	62.2
Employed	155,337	157,680	158,113	158,605	158,788
Employment–population ratio	59.3	59.9	60.0	60.0	60.0
Unemployed	6,818	6,252	5,964	5,836	5,925
Unemployment rate	4.2	3.8	3.6	3.5	3.6
Men, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	85,949	87,294	87,256	87,336	87,810
Participation rate	67.8	68.0	67.9	67.8	68.1
Employed	82,347	83,938	84,047	84,175	84,665
Employment–population ratio	65.0	65.4	65.4	65.4	65.6
Unemployed	3,602	3,355	3,209	3,161	3,144
Unemployment rate	4.2	3.8	3.7	3.6	3.6
Women, 16 years and older
Civilian labor force	76,206	76,638	76,821	77,105	76,903
Participation rate	56.3	56.8	56.8	56.9	56.7
Employed	72,990	73,742	74,066	74,430	74,122
Employment–population ratio	54.0	54.6	54.8	54.9	54.6
Unemployed	3,216	2,896	2,755	2,675	2,781
Unemployment rate	4.2	3.8	3.6	3.5	3.6
White
Civilian labor force	124,693	125,995	125,682	126,000	126,163
Participation rate	61.7	62.1	61.9	62.0	62.0
Employed	120,161	121,832	121,600	122,079	122,142
Employment–population ratio	59.4	60.1	59.9	60.0	60.0
Unemployed	4,531	4,163	4,082	3,921	4,021
Unemployment rate	3.6	3.3	3.2	3.1	3.2
Black or African American
Civilian labor force	20,530	21,106	21,293	21,188	21,343
Participation rate	60.9	62.1	62.5	62.0	62.3
Employed	19,081	19,725	20,015	19,900	20,105
Employment–population ratio	56.6	58.0	58.7	58.2	58.7
Unemployed	1,449	1,381	1,278	1,287	1,238
Unemployment rate	7.1	6.5	6.0	6.1	5.8
Asian
Civilian labor force	10,770	10,736	10,886	11,055	11,006
Participation rate	65.1	63.8	64.6	65.0	64.6
Employed	10,348	10,403	10,578	10,767	10,713
Employment–population ratio	62.6	61.8	62.8	63.3	62.9
Unemployed	422	333	307	288	294
Unemployment rate	3.9	3.1	2.8	2.6	2.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian labor force	29,874	30,456	30,569	30,661	30,739
Participation rate	66.0	66.5	66.4	66.2	66.0
Employed	28,312	29,086	29,249	29,387	29,475
Employment–population ratio	62.6	63.5	63.5	63.5	63.3
Unemployed	1,562	1,370	1,320	1,275	1,265
Unemployment rate	5.2	4.5	4.3	4.2	4.1
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.

⁠

Chart 1. Unemployment rate for people 16 years and older, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1968–2022 (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
Q1 2022	3.8
Q2 2022	3.6
Q3 2022	3.5
Q4 2022	3.6
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.

Unemployment declined among men and women in 2022. The jobless rates for both men and women fell by 0.6 percentage point over the year, each averaging 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter. At the end of the year, the jobless rate for each group matched its prepandemic level. (See table 1.)

Unemployment rates decreased for all major race and ethnicity groups

The unemployment rates for all race and ethnicity groups declined in 2022. The jobless rate for Blacks fell by 1.3 percentage points, to 5.8 percent, and the rate for Asians fell by 1.2 percentage points, to 2.7 percent. The jobless rate for Hispanics declined by 1.1 percentage points, to 4.1 percent, and the rate for Whites fell by 0.4 percentage point, to 3.2 percent. Even with these improvements, the unemployment rates for Blacks and Hispanics remained considerably higher than the rates for Asians and Whites. (See chart 2.)

⁠

Chart 2. Unemployment rates, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2022 (in percent)
Quarter	Whites	Blacks	Asians	Hispanics
Q1 1994	5.7	12.8	-	10.2
Q2 1994	5.4	11.6	-	10.3
Q3 1994	5.2	10.9	-	10.0
Q4 1994	4.9	10.7	-	9.2
Q1 1995	4.8	10.0	-	9.4
Q2 1995	5.0	10.5	-	9.3
Q3 1995	4.9	11.0	-	9.2
Q4 1995	4.9	9.9	-	9.4
Q1 1996	4.8	10.4	-	9.6
Q2 1996	4.8	10.5	-	9.3
Q3 1996	4.5	10.6	-	8.6
Q4 1996	4.6	10.6	-	8.0
Q1 1997	4.5	10.7	-	8.3
Q2 1997	4.2	10.4	-	7.8
Q3 1997	4.2	9.5	-	7.5
Q4 1997	4.0	9.7	-	7.3
Q1 1998	4.0	9.3	-	7.0
Q2 1998	3.8	8.9	-	7.0
Q3 1998	3.9	9.1	-	7.3
Q4 1998	3.9	8.3	-	7.3
Q1 1999	3.7	8.0	-	6.4
Q2 1999	3.8	7.6	-	6.8
Q3 1999	3.7	8.3	-	6.6
Q4 1999	3.5	8.1	-	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	3.1	4.5
Q2 2019	3.2	6.2	2.3	4.2
Q3 2019	3.3	5.5	2.6	4.2
Q4 2019	3.2	5.7	2.7	4.3
Q1 2020	3.3	6.4	3.2	4.9
Q2 2020	12.1	16.3	14.4	17.0
Q3 2020	7.9	13.1	10.5	11.3
Q4 2020	6.0	10.4	6.8	9.0
Q1 2021	5.5	9.5	5.9	8.2
Q2 2021	5.2	9.4	5.7	7.4
Q3 2021	4.5	8.2	4.6	6.2
Q4 2021	3.6	7.1	3.9	5.2
Q1 2022	3.3	6.5	3.1	4.5
Q2 2022	3.2	6.0	2.8	4.3
Q3 2022	3.1	6.1	2.6	4.2
Q4 2022	3.2	5.8	2.7	4.1
Turning points are quarterly. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. Data for Asians are not available before 2000 and are not seasonally adjusted before 2010. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Jobless rates declined for people of prime working age and older age groups

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds changed little in 2022. Within this age group, the jobless rate for teenagers (those ages 16 to 19) changed little over the year, remaining below its prepandemic level. The jobless rate for young adults (those ages 20 to 24) also changed little over the year, but it remained above its prepandemic level. The unemployment rate for teenagers, at 10.9 percent, continued to be higher than the rate for young adults, at 7.0 percent. (See table 2.)

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by age and sex, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Total, 16 to 24 years
Civilian labor force	20,860	21,103	21,015	21,054	21,197
Participation rate	56.1	55.7	55.4	55.4	55.7
Employed	19,116	19,355	19,345	19,359	19,464
Employment–population ratio	51.4	51.1	51.0	51.0	51.2
Unemployed	1,744	1,748	1,670	1,695	1,733
Unemployment rate	8.4	8.3	7.9	8.0	8.2
Total, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	5,974	6,215	6,243	6,280	6,367
Participation rate	36.3	36.5	36.6	36.7	37.2
Employed	5,308	5,569	5,583	5,586	5,673
Employment–population ratio	32.3	32.7	32.7	32.7	33.1
Unemployed	667	646	660	694	694
Unemployment rate	11.2	10.4	10.6	11.1	10.9
Total, 20 to 24 years
Civilian labor force	14,886	14,888	14,772	14,773	14,830
Participation rate	71.7	71.4	70.8	70.7	70.9
Employed	13,808	13,786	13,763	13,773	13,791
Employment–population ratio	66.5	66.1	65.9	65.9	65.9
Unemployed	1,078	1,102	1,009	1,000	1,039
Unemployment rate	7.2	7.4	6.8	6.8	7.0
Total, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	103,252	104,643	104,843	105,030	104,819
Participation rate	81.8	82.3	82.5	82.6	82.4
Employed	99,377	101,215	101,626	101,884	101,585
Employment–population ratio	78.8	79.6	79.9	80.1	79.9
Unemployed	3,875	3,428	3,217	3,146	3,234
Unemployment rate	3.8	3.3	3.1	3.0	3.1
Men, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	54,938	55,875	55,924	55,925	55,873
Participation rate	88.1	88.5	88.6	88.6	88.5
Employed	52,887	54,083	54,242	54,240	54,198
Employment–population ratio	84.8	85.7	86.0	85.9	85.8
Unemployed	2,051	1,792	1,682	1,685	1,674
Unemployment rate	3.7	3.2	3.0	3.0	3.0
Women, 25 to 54 years
Civilian labor force	48,315	48,767	48,919	49,105	48,946
Participation rate	75.7	76.1	76.4	76.7	76.4
Employed	46,490	47,132	47,385	47,644	47,387
Employment–population ratio	72.8	73.6	74.0	74.4	74.0
Unemployed	1,825	1,635	1,535	1,461	1,559
Unemployment rate	3.8	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.2
Total, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	37,914	38,351	38,220	38,314	38,548
Participation rate	38.4	39.0	38.7	38.7	38.8
Employed	36,689	37,247	37,177	37,343	37,575
Employment–population ratio	37.2	37.9	37.7	37.7	37.8
Unemployed	1,225	1,104	1,043	971	972
Unemployment rate	3.2	2.9	2.7	2.5	2.5
Men, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	20,231	20,805	20,611	20,654	20,926
Participation rate	44.2	45.1	44.5	44.4	44.8
Employed	19,612	20,180	20,039	20,134	20,390
Employment–population ratio	42.9	43.7	43.2	43.3	43.7
Unemployed	619	625	572	520	535
Unemployment rate	3.1	3.0	2.8	2.5	2.6
Women, 55 years and older
Civilian labor force	17,680	17,566	17,615	17,638	17,618
Participation rate	33.4	33.7	33.7	33.6	33.4
Employed	17,078	17,067	17,138	17,209	17,185
Employment–population ratio	32.3	32.7	32.8	32.8	32.6
Unemployed	602	499	477	430	433
Unemployment rate	3.4	2.8	2.7	2.4	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.

The unemployment rate for people of prime working age (those 25 to 54) declined over the year, to 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter, returning to its prepandemic level. The unemployment rates for both men and women of prime working age declined over the year, down to levels seen in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The unemployment rate for workers ages 55 and older was 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, down by 0.7 percentage point over the year.^{^[5]}The jobless rates for men and women in this age group differed little from each other, at 2.6 percent for men and 2.5 percent for women. By the fourth quarter of the year, the rates for both groups differed little from the rates recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.

Jobless rates decreased over the year for people at all major educational attainment levels

Among workers ages 25 and older, jobless rates across all major educational attainment levels declined in 2022. The unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma declined by 0.9 percentage point over the year, to 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter. The rate for high school graduates with no college fell by 1.2 percentage points, to 3.8 percent by the end of 2022, the steepest drop among the educational attainment categories. The jobless rate for people with some college or an associate’s degree, at 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter, decreased by 0.8 percentage point over the year. The jobless rate for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher, at 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, was 0.3 percentage point lower than it was a year earlier. As in the past, jobless rates in 2022 were much lower for people with higher levels of education than for those with less education. (See chart 3 and table 3.)

⁠

Chart 3. Unemployment rates for people 25 years and older, by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted, fourth quarter 2019–2022 (in percent)
Education level	4th quarter 2019	4th quarter 2020	4th quarter 2021	4th quarter 2022
Total	2.9	6.0	3.6	2.9
Less than a high school diploma	5.5	9.7	6.1	5.2
High school graduates, no college	3.7	7.9	5.0	3.8
Some college or associate's degree	2.8	6.5	3.8	3.0
Bachelor's degree and higher	2.0	4.1	2.2	1.9
Note: The category "high school graduates, no college" includes people with a high school diploma or equivalent. The category "bachelor's degree and higher" 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, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian labor force	8,890	8,940	9,183	8,855	8,976
Participation rate	45.7	45.8	44.3	45.8	45.9
Employed	8,352	8,462	8,685	8,339	8,508
Employment–population ratio	42.9	43.3	41.9	43.1	43.5
Unemployed	538	478	498	516	468
Unemployment rate	6.1	5.4	5.4	5.8	5.2
High school graduates, no college ^¹
Civilian labor force	35,597	36,772	36,109	35,491	35,289
Participation rate	55.6	56.6	56.7	56.2	56.0
Employed	33,830	35,184	34,756	34,109	33,949
Employment–population ratio	52.8	54.2	54.6	54.0	53.8
Unemployed	1,767	1,589	1,353	1,381	1,340
Unemployment rate	5.0	4.3	3.7	3.9	3.8
Some college or associate's degree
Civilian labor force	35,415	35,458	35,690	35,591	35,825
Participation rate	62.7	63.5	63.2	62.8	62.7
Employed	34,059	34,242	34,543	34,564	34,739
Employment–population ratio	60.3	61.3	61.1	61.0	60.8
Unemployed	1,356	1,216	1,147	1,027	1,086
Unemployment rate	3.8	3.4	3.2	2.9	3.0
Bachelor's degree and higher ^²
Civilian labor force	61,175	61,804	62,103	63,491	63,168
Participation rate	72.1	72.6	73.2	72.9	72.6
Employed	59,805	60,490	60,848	62,290	61,939
Employment–population ratio	70.5	71.1	71.7	71.6	71.2
Unemployed	1,370	1,314	1,255	1,201	1,229
Unemployment rate	2.2	2.1	2.0	1.9	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 5 unemployed people had been jobless for 27 weeks or longer

The number of long-term unemployed people (those who were jobless for 27 weeks or longer) declined to 1.2 million by the end of 2022. This group accounted for 19.5 percent of the total number of unemployed people in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.^{^[6]} At the end of 2022, the number of long-term unemployed people and its share of total unemployment were little different from their levels before the pandemic. (See table 4 and chart 4.)

⁠

Chart 4. Long-term unemployed as a percentage of total unemployed, quarterly averages, 2005–2022 (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	21.6	13.8
Q2 2018	21.2	12.4
Q3 2018	21.9	13.6
Q4 2018	20.8	13.7
Q1 2019	20.7	12.6
Q2 2019	22.8	13.7
Q3 2019	20.6	11.8
Q4 2019	20.4	12.8
Q1 2020	18.6	11.0
Q2 2020	5.7	2.7
Q3 2020	12.9	5.8
Q4 2020	35.0	7.6
Q1 2021	41.7	14.6
Q2 2021	41.8	29.3
Q3 2021	37.4	26.9
Q4 2021	31.7	23.3
Q1 2022	25.4	17.6
Q2 2022	23.5	16.1
Q3 2022	19.1	13.0
Q4 2022	19.5	13.3
Data for 27 weeks or longer are seasonally adjusted, and data for 52 weeks or longer are not seasonally adjusted. 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.

After reaching a record high of 4.5 million (not seasonally adjusted) in the second quarter of 2010, the number of people unemployed for 52 weeks or longer declined for nearly a decade. At the onset of the pandemic-related surge in unemployment in the second quarter of 2020, the number of people in this group, at 556,000, was the lowest 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. The number of those unemployed for 52 weeks or longer declined by 756,000 from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022, settling at 729,000. The group’s share of total unemployment fell from 23.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 13.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, nearly returning to its prepandemic share (12.8 percent).

Table 4. Unemployed people, by reason and duration of unemployment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Characteristic	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Reason for unemployment
Job losers and people who completed temporary jobs	3,377	3,020	2,738	2,613	2,695
On temporary layoff	899	871	834	790	824
Not on temporary layoff	2,478	2,149	1,904	1,823	1,871
Permanent job losers	1,903	1,530	1,341	1,247	1,319
Persons who completed temporary jobs	575	619	562	576	552
Job leavers	803	902	798	881	838
Reentrants	2,114	1,986	1,926	1,830	1,813
New entrants	487	446	504	459	516
Percent distribution
Job losers and people who completed temporary jobs	49.8	47.5	45.9	45.2	46.0
On temporary layoff	13.3	13.7	14.0	13.7	14.1
Not on temporary layoff	36.5	33.8	31.9	31.5	31.9
Job leavers	11.8	14.2	13.4	15.2	14.3
Reentrants	31.2	31.3	32.3	31.6	30.9
New entrants	7.2	7.0	8.4	7.9	8.8
Duration of unemployment
Less than 5 weeks	2,016	2,291	2,184	2,157	2,231
5 to 14 weeks	1,718	1,703	1,659	1,736	1,702
15 weeks or longer	3,066	2,300	2,050	1,956	1,973
15 to 26 weeks	909	699	663	841	822
27 weeks or longer	2,157	1,601	1,386	1,116	1,151
Average (mean) duration, in weeks	28.0	25.0	23.2	21.6	20.6
Median duration, in weeks	12.8	9.0	8.4	8.4	8.7
Percent distribution
Less than 5 weeks	29.7	36.4	37.1	36.9	37.8
5 to 14 weeks	25.3	27.1	28.1	29.7	28.8
15 weeks or longer	45.1	36.5	34.8	33.4	33.4
15 to 26 weeks	13.4	11.1	11.3	14.4	13.9
27 weeks or longer	31.7	25.4	23.5	19.1	19.5
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

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 (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, surging 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 then declined markedly, a pattern that continued in 2022. The number of job losers averaged 2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, roughly in line with its prepandemic level. (See table 4 and chart 5.)

⁠

Chart 5. Unemployed people, by reasons for unemployment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2022 (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	2,325	787	1,951	654
Q2 2018	873	2,138	818	1,973	591
Q3 2018	848	2,019	817	1,849	570
Q4 2018	834	2,068	755	1,946	594
Q1 2019	871	2,053	809	1,950	622
Q2 2019	810	1,912	814	1,861	558
Q3 2019	795	1,920	820	1,738	600
Q4 2019	816	1,964	812	1,690	580
Q1 2020	1,159	2,007	770	1,833	541
Q2 2020	14,642	3,039	552	1,791	501
Q3 2020	6,650	4,075	669	2,155	538
Q4 2020	3,032	4,477	737	2,071	524
Q1 2021	2,350	4,254	710	2,164	554
Q2 2021	1,905	4,038	849	2,182	529
Q3 2021	1,176	3,289	847	2,333	498
Q4 2021	899	2,478	803	2,114	487
Q1 2022	871	2,149	902	1,986	446
Q2 2022	834	1,904	798	1,926	504
Q3 2022	790	1,823	881	1,830	459
Q4 2022	824	1,871	838	1,813	516
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.

Most of the increase in the number of job losers in the second quarter of 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, consisted of people on temporary layoff.^{^[7]} The number of unemployed people on temporary layoff then fell sharply, returning to its prepandemic level by the end of 2021, and subsequently held at about this level throughout most of 2022.

The number of unemployed people not on temporary layoff, a group consisting mostly of permanent job losers, was 1.9 million at the end of 2022, accounting for 31.9 percent of the total number of unemployed people. This measure continued to decline during the first half of 2022, and by the end of the year, it was roughly at its prepandemic level. The number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force, at 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, declined by 301,000 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 30.9 percent of unemployed people at the end of 2022.

The number of unemployed job leavers—that is, people who voluntarily left their jobs—changed little over the year, averaging 838,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The number of new entrants to the labor force also changed little over the year, at 516,000 in the fourth quarter.

Unemployment declined the most in service occupations

From 2021 to 2022, the unemployment rate decreased for all five major occupational categories. (Data are annual averages.) The jobless rate for service occupations had the sharpest decrease, declining by 3.0 percentage points, to 4.8 percent in 2022. Within this category, food preparation and serving related occupations, with a jobless rate of 5.7 percent, and personal care and service occupations, with a jobless rate of 4.1 percent, had the largest declines in 2022. The jobless rates also declined for production, transportation, and material moving occupations (4.9 percent); natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (4.4 percent); sales and office occupations (3.7 percent); and management, professional, and related occupations (2.0 percent). (See table 5.)

Table 5. Unemployment rates, by occupational group and sex, annual averages, 2021–2022 (in percent)
Occupational group	Total			Men			Women
Occupational group	2021	2022	Change, 2021–22	2021	2022	Change, 2021–22	2021	2022	Change, 2021–22
Management, professional, and related occupations	2.8	2.0	-0.8	2.8	1.8	-1.0	2.9	2.1	-0.8
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	2.8	1.8	-1.0	2.7	1.6	-1.1	3.0	2.0	-1.0
Professional and related occupations	2.8	2.1	-0.7	2.9	2.0	-0.9	2.8	2.2	-0.6
Service occupations	7.8	4.8	-3.0	7.9	4.8	-3.1	7.7	4.8	-2.9
Healthcare support occupations	5.9	3.9	-2.0	5.3	3.3	-2.0	6.0	4.1	-1.9
Protective service occupations	3.9	3.4	-0.5	3.6	3.0	-0.6	4.8	4.6	-0.2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	10.3	5.7	-4.6	11.1	5.6	-5.5	9.7	5.8	-3.9
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	7.5	5.4	-2.1	6.6	5.0	-1.6	8.8	5.9	-2.9
Personal care and service occupations	8.3	4.1	-4.2	12.5	5.6	-6.9	7.1	3.7	-3.4
Sales and office occupations	5.3	3.7	-1.6	4.9	3.6	-1.3	5.5	3.8	-1.7
Sales and related occupations	5.6	3.9	-1.7	4.6	3.2	-1.4	6.6	4.5	-2.1
Office and administrative support occupations	5.0	3.6	-1.4	5.5	4.2	-1.3	4.8	3.3	-1.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	6.6	4.4	-2.2	6.4	4.3	-2.1	9.1	6.0	-3.1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	8.9	6.8	-2.1	8.3	6.3	-2.0	10.9	7.9	-3.0
Construction and extraction occupations	7.8	5.4	-2.4	7.7	5.4	-2.3	11.0	5.5	-5.5
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3.9	2.2	-1.7	4.0	2.1	-1.9	3.7	4.5	0.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	7.1	4.9	-2.2	6.9	4.7	-2.2	7.6	5.4	-2.2
Production occupations	5.8	3.9	-1.9	5.5	3.6	-1.9	6.3	4.6	-1.7
Transportation and material moving occupations	8.0	5.5	-2.5	7.8	5.4	-2.4	8.8	6.1	-2.7
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. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

All six alternative measures of labor underutilization declined

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regularly publishes six alternative measures of labor underutilization.^{^[8]} These measures, known as U-1 through U-6 (U-3 is the official unemployment rate), tend to show similar cyclical patterns, but the alternative measures provide additional insight into the degree to which labor resources are being underutilized. (See the box that follows for more information about the six measures of labor underutilization.)

Alternative measures of labor underutilization

Six alternative measures of labor underutilization have long been available from the Current Population Survey for the United States as a whole. The official concept of unemployment—as measured in the CPS by U-3 in the range of alternative measures (U-1 through U-6)—includes all jobless people who are available to take a job and have actively sought work in the past 4 weeks. The other five 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 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 (this is the definition used for the 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

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 because they believe no jobs are available for them or there are none for which they qualify. The marginally attached category (included in the U-5 and U-6 measures) includes discouraged workers. The inclusion criteria for marginally attached workers are the same as those for discouraged workers, except that the marginally attached can cite any reason for their 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.

Each of the six measures of labor underutilization decreased from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022. U-2 (1.6 percent) and U-6 (6.7 percent) recorded their lowest levels since the current range of measures was introduced in 1994. Among the other measures, U-1 declined by 0.7 percentage point over the year, to 1.2 percent; U-3 fell by 0.6 percentage point, to 3.6 percent; and U-5 decreased by 0.8 percentage point, to 4.4 percent. (See chart 6.) In the fourth quarter of 2022, U-5 was the only measure to remain above its prepandemic level. The other five measures were either at or below the levels recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

⁠

Chart 6. Alternative measures of labor underutilization, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2022 (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	7.4
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	4.4	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	7.6
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
Q1 2022	1.4	1.8	3.8	4.0	4.7	7.1
Q2 2022	1.2	1.7	3.6	3.9	4.5	6.9
Q3 2022	1.2	1.6	3.5	3.8	4.4	6.8
Q4 2022	1.2	1.6	3.6	3.8	4.4	6.7
Turning points are quarterly. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. 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. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Labor force status flows showed an improvement in unemployment

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 data on labor force flows, which show that millions of people move between employment and unemployment each month, while millions of others leave or enter the labor force.^{^[9]} In 2022, 16.1 million people, or 6.1 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 2022.

Historically, unemployed people have been 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 decrease during labor market recoveries. The share of unemployed people who remained unemployed was 45.7 percent in December 2022 (calculated as a 3-month moving average), which is below its value of 48.3 percent at the end of 2021. In December 2022, 29.2 percent of people who were unemployed a month earlier found work, while 25.1 percent stopped looking for work and left the labor force. These two measures were slightly above their levels of 27.9 and 23.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. (See chart 7.)

⁠

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 2022
Month	Remained unemployed	Found employment	Left the labor force
Apr 1990	49.3	29.6	21.1
May 1990	50.7	28.4	20.8
Jun 1990	51.4	28.2	20.4
Jul 1990	51.3	28.3	20.4
Aug 1990	51.4	28.2	20.4
Sep 1990	53.4	26.7	19.9
Oct 1990	54.0	26.7	19.3
Nov 1990	54.5	26.2	19.3
Dec 1990	54.3	26.4	19.3
Jan 1991	54.7	25.7	19.6
Feb 1991	55.1	25.4	19.4
Mar 1991	55.5	25.4	19.1
Apr 1991	55.7	26.0	18.2
May 1991	56.4	25.3	18.3
Jun 1991	56.4	25.3	18.3
Jul 1991	57.0	24.1	18.9
Aug 1991	56.6	24.6	18.8
Sep 1991	56.4	24.9	18.7
Oct 1991	56.2	25.0	18.8
Nov 1991	56.8	24.7	18.5
Dec 1991	58.0	23.3	18.7
Jan 1992	57.8	24.0	18.1
Feb 1992	59.0	23.4	17.6
Mar 1992	59.3	23.6	17.1
Apr 1992	60.1	22.5	17.4
May 1992	59.6	22.8	17.6
Jun 1992	59.6	22.9	17.5
Jul 1992	59.6	22.9	17.5
Aug 1992	59.8	22.6	17.5
Sep 1992	59.2	22.7	18.1
Oct 1992	58.8	22.8	18.5
Nov 1992	58.3	23.3	18.4
Dec 1992	57.9	23.5	18.5
Jan 1993	58.4	23.4	18.1
Feb 1993	58.0	23.0	19.0
Mar 1993	58.0	23.0	19.0
Apr 1993	57.7	23.3	19.0
May 1993	58.1	23.9	18.0
Jun 1993	58.9	23.7	17.4
Jul 1993	58.3	24.0	17.7
Aug 1993	57.8	23.8	18.4
Sep 1993	57.1	23.8	19.1
Oct 1993	57.3	23.7	19.1
Nov 1993	56.8	24.0	19.2
Dec 1993	55.8	25.0	19.2
Jan 1994	55.0	25.4	19.5
Feb 1994	54.3	25.7	20.0
Mar 1994	53.5	25.6	20.8
Apr 1994	52.5	25.7	21.8
May 1994	51.3	26.2	22.5
Jun 1994	50.4	26.2	23.3
Jul 1994	49.8	26.6	23.5
Aug 1994	49.7	26.9	23.4
Sep 1994	50.0	27.4	22.6
Oct 1994	50.6	27.1	22.3
Nov 1994	50.2	27.0	22.8
Dec 1994	48.9	28.0	23.1
Jan 1995	47.7	28.8	23.4
Feb 1995	47.8	29.0	23.1
Mar 1995	48.9	28.4	22.7
Apr 1995	49.6	28.3	22.1
May 1995	49.8	27.7	22.5
Jun 1995	49.7	27.5	22.8
Jul 1995	49.5	27.4	23.1
Aug 1995	49.2	28.2	22.6
Sep 1995	49.0	28.1	22.9
Oct 1995	48.0	28.5	23.5
Nov 1995	48.5	27.8	23.7
Dec 1995	49.4	27.1	23.5
Jan 1996	50.4	26.6	23.0
Feb 1996	50.1	26.8	23.1
Mar 1996	49.5	27.4	23.1
Apr 1996	49.7	27.3	23.0
May 1996	49.8	27.1	23.1
Jun 1996	49.3	27.1	23.6
Jul 1996	48.8	27.5	23.7
Aug 1996	48.4	28.2	23.4
Sep 1996	48.3	28.6	23.0
Oct 1996	48.5	28.9	22.5
Nov 1996	48.9	28.5	22.6
Dec 1996	50.1	27.8	22.0
Jan 1997	49.2	28.2	22.6
Feb 1997	49.0	28.6	22.4
Mar 1997	48.2	29.4	22.4
Apr 1997	48.6	28.7	22.7
May 1997	48.1	29.0	22.9
Jun 1997	47.4	29.3	23.3
Jul 1997	46.8	30.2	23.0
Aug 1997	47.0	29.3	23.6
Sep 1997	47.7	28.6	23.7
Oct 1997	47.8	28.1	24.1
Nov 1997	47.6	28.9	23.5
Dec 1997	46.3	30.1	23.6
Jan 1998	46.3	30.1	23.6
Feb 1998	45.2	30.5	24.2
Mar 1998	45.3	29.9	24.8
Apr 1998	44.1	30.8	25.0
May 1998	44.8	30.5	24.6
Jun 1998	45.4	31.0	23.6
Jul 1998	46.3	30.4	23.3
Aug 1998	46.1	30.9	23.0
Sep 1998	45.6	30.9	23.5
Oct 1998	45.4	31.0	23.6
Nov 1998	44.8	30.9	24.3
Dec 1998	44.2	30.7	25.1
Jan 1999	43.8	30.9	25.3
Feb 1999	44.0	31.0	24.9
Mar 1999	43.8	31.9	24.3
Apr 1999	44.4	31.2	24.3
May 1999	44.1	31.1	24.8
Jun 1999	45.2	30.4	24.4
Jul 1999	45.1	31.2	23.7
Aug 1999	45.4	31.6	23.0
Sep 1999	45.4	31.8	22.8
Oct 1999	44.8	31.7	23.4
Nov 1999	43.8	32.5	23.7
Dec 1999	42.4	33.1	24.5
Jan 2000	41.6	34.7	23.7
Feb 2000	42.7	33.6	23.7
Mar 2000	43.2	33.0	23.8
Apr 2000	43.0	32.5	24.5
May 2000	43.0	32.2	24.8
Jun 2000	42.7	32.1	25.1
Jul 2000	43.4	32.0	24.6
Aug 2000	43.0	32.5	24.5
Sep 2000	43.2	32.4	24.4
Oct 2000	43.2	32.5	24.3
Nov 2000	44.2	32.1	23.6
Dec 2000	45.8	31.5	22.7
Jan 2001	46.5	30.9	22.6
Feb 2001	46.2	30.7	23.1
Mar 2001	45.4	31.0	23.5
Apr 2001	45.0	30.6	24.4
May 2001	44.5	31.3	24.2
Jun 2001	45.0	31.1	23.8
Jul 2001	45.9	31.1	22.9
Aug 2001	47.5	30.0	22.5
Sep 2001	48.4	29.4	22.2
Oct 2001	49.6	28.4	22.0
Nov 2001	50.5	27.9	21.6
Dec 2001	51.7	27.0	21.3
Jan 2002	52.2	26.5	21.3
Feb 2002	52.4	26.8	20.8
Mar 2002	52.5	26.9	20.5
Apr 2002	53.3	26.8	19.9
May 2002	54.1	25.5	20.4
Jun 2002	54.7	24.6	20.8
Jul 2002	53.8	24.2	22.0
Aug 2002	53.6	24.6	21.7
Sep 2002	53.0	25.4	21.5
Oct 2002	53.4	25.7	20.9
Nov 2002	53.8	24.8	21.4
Dec 2002	54.7	23.8	21.4
Jan 2003	54.1	24.0	21.9
Feb 2003	54.5	23.8	21.7
Mar 2003	53.7	23.8	22.5
Apr 2003	54.7	23.5	21.7
May 2003	54.6	23.5	21.8
Jun 2003	55.4	23.7	20.9
Jul 2003	55.6	23.2	21.2
Aug 2003	55.1	23.4	21.5
Sep 2003	54.9	23.2	21.8
Oct 2003	54.6	23.3	22.1
Nov 2003	54.8	23.5	21.7
Dec 2003	53.6	24.5	21.9
Jan 2004	53.8	25.1	21.1
Feb 2004	53.2	24.9	21.8
Mar 2004	53.9	24.0	22.0
Apr 2004	53.0	24.2	22.8
May 2004	53.0	24.8	22.2
Jun 2004	52.9	25.2	21.9
Jul 2004	52.6	25.4	21.9
Aug 2004	52.1	25.1	22.8
Sep 2004	50.9	25.7	23.4
Oct 2004	50.7	26.1	23.3
Nov 2004	50.6	26.8	22.5
Dec 2004	51.1	26.6	22.2
Jan 2005	51.6	26.2	22.2
Feb 2005	52.0	26.1	21.9
Mar 2005	51.9	26.0	22.1
Apr 2005	51.5	26.3	22.2
May 2005	51.0	26.1	22.9
Jun 2005	50.8	26.1	23.0
Jul 2005	50.5	25.8	23.7
Aug 2005	49.5	26.8	23.7
Sep 2005	49.6	26.6	23.9
Oct 2005	49.6	26.6	23.8
Nov 2005	50.0	26.2	23.8
Dec 2005	49.0	26.5	24.5
Jan 2006	48.1	27.1	24.7
Feb 2006	48.4	26.6	25.0
Mar 2006	48.7	27.0	24.2
Apr 2006	48.8	27.0	24.2
May 2006	47.8	27.7	24.4
Jun 2006	47.0	28.3	24.6
Jul 2006	46.8	28.6	24.6
Aug 2006	46.6	28.9	24.5
Sep 2006	46.8	29.0	24.1
Oct 2006	46.9	28.6	24.4
Nov 2006	47.7	28.5	23.8
Dec 2006	47.6	28.8	23.6
Jan 2007	48.0	29.2	22.7
Feb 2007	46.8	29.6	23.5
Mar 2007	46.8	29.6	23.6
Apr 2007	47.3	29.2	23.5
May 2007	48.2	28.9	22.9
Jun 2007	49.6	27.4	22.9
Jul 2007	49.6	27.4	23.0
Aug 2007	50.2	26.9	22.8
Sep 2007	50.1	27.3	22.6
Oct 2007	50.3	27.1	22.6
Nov 2007	50.1	26.9	23.0
Dec 2007	50.8	26.9	22.3
Jan 2008	51.5	26.9	21.5
Feb 2008	51.6	26.4	21.9
Mar 2008	51.0	26.3	22.6
Apr 2008	49.7	26.4	23.9
May 2008	50.8	26.2	23.0
Jun 2008	52.1	25.3	22.6
Jul 2008	54.5	24.3	21.2
Aug 2008	55.1	23.8	21.1
Sep 2008	54.8	23.9	21.3
Oct 2008	55.0	23.4	21.6
Nov 2008	56.2	22.5	21.3
Dec 2008	58.0	21.0	21.0
Jan 2009	59.2	20.1	20.6
Feb 2009	60.4	19.5	20.0
Mar 2009	61.9	18.6	19.4
Apr 2009	62.9	18.2	18.8
May 2009	64.0	17.3	18.7
Jun 2009	64.2	17.6	18.2
Jul 2009	64.3	17.3	18.4
Aug 2009	63.9	17.3	18.7
Sep 2009	64.0	17.1	18.8
Oct 2009	64.9	16.4	18.7
Nov 2009	65.2	16.6	18.2
Dec 2009	65.4	15.9	18.6
Jan 2010	64.9	16.3	18.7
Feb 2010	64.9	16.2	18.9
Mar 2010	64.4	16.8	18.7
Apr 2010	64.2	17.3	18.5
May 2010	63.5	17.6	18.9
Jun 2010	63.3	17.2	19.5
Jul 2010	63.0	16.9	20.0
Aug 2010	63.2	16.7	20.0
Sep 2010	63.3	16.8	19.9
Oct 2010	63.5	16.6	19.9
Nov 2010	63.7	16.6	19.7
Dec 2010	63.0	17.0	19.9
Jan 2011	62.6	16.9	20.4
Feb 2011	62.3	16.8	20.9
Mar 2011	62.6	16.7	20.6
Apr 2011	62.8	16.7	20.5
May 2011	62.8	16.8	20.4
Jun 2011	62.6	16.9	20.5
Jul 2011	62.3	17.1	20.6
Aug 2011	62.4	17.2	20.4
Sep 2011	62.0	17.2	20.8
Oct 2011	62.3	17.5	20.2
Nov 2011	61.8	17.9	20.3
Dec 2011	61.8	18.3	19.9
Jan 2012	60.9	18.4	20.7
Feb 2012	60.6	18.4	21.0
Mar 2012	60.4	18.3	21.2
Apr 2012	60.8	18.1	21.1
May 2012	60.8	18.0	21.2
Jun 2012	61.0	17.8	21.2
Jul 2012	60.9	17.9	21.2
Aug 2012	60.5	17.8	21.7
Sep 2012	59.6	18.1	22.2
Oct 2012	58.7	18.6	22.6
Nov 2012	58.4	18.8	22.8
Dec 2012	58.9	18.4	22.7
Jan 2013	59.8	18.1	22.1
Feb 2013	59.8	18.4	21.8
Mar 2013	59.7	18.4	21.8
Apr 2013	59.6	18.5	21.9
May 2013	59.9	18.7	21.4
Jun 2013	59.8	19.3	20.9
Jul 2013	58.9	19.7	21.4
Aug 2013	58.4	19.6	22.0
Sep 2013	58.5	19.2	22.2
Oct 2013	58.5	18.6	22.9
Nov 2013	58.8	18.7	22.5
Dec 2013	57.8	19.3	22.9
Jan 2014	56.9	20.3	22.8
Feb 2014	56.1	21.3	22.7
Mar 2014	55.9	21.9	22.2
Apr 2014	55.8	22.0	22.2
May 2014	55.4	21.5	23.1
Jun 2014	54.6	21.5	23.9
Jul 2014	55.0	21.3	23.7
Aug 2014	54.6	21.7	23.7
Sep 2014	54.8	21.8	23.3
Oct 2014	53.8	22.9	23.2
Nov 2014	53.4	23.1	23.5
Dec 2014	52.5	23.4	24.0
Jan 2015	52.9	22.7	24.4
Feb 2015	52.3	22.8	24.9
Mar 2015	52.1	22.8	25.0
Apr 2015	51.5	23.4	25.0
May 2015	52.3	23.6	24.1
Jun 2015	51.9	23.9	24.2
Jul 2015	51.8	23.3	24.8
Aug 2015	50.7	24.0	25.2
Sep 2015	50.8	23.9	25.2
Oct 2015	50.9	24.6	24.4
Nov 2015	51.6	24.5	23.9
Dec 2015	51.9	25.1	22.9
Jan 2016	51.3	25.3	23.4
Feb 2016	51.2	24.4	24.4
Mar 2016	52.1	23.5	24.3
Apr 2016	53.0	22.9	24.1
May 2016	51.9	23.7	24.3
Jun 2016	51.1	24.2	24.7
Jul 2016	51.0	24.8	24.1
Aug 2016	52.4	24.5	23.0
Sep 2016	53.0	24.6	22.4
Oct 2016	52.2	25.1	22.7
Nov 2016	50.6	25.8	23.5
Dec 2016	49.8	25.7	24.6
Jan 2017	50.3	26.0	23.5
Feb 2017	51.1	26.3	22.4
Mar 2017	51.1	26.4	22.3
Apr 2017	50.1	26.4	23.4
May 2017	50.0	26.2	23.8
Jun 2017	49.5	26.6	23.9
Jul 2017	49.1	27.5	23.4
Aug 2017	48.8	27.2	24.0
Sep 2017	48.5	27.8	23.7
Oct 2017	48.1	27.3	24.6
Nov 2017	48.3	28.0	23.7
Dec 2017	48.5	27.6	23.8
Jan 2018	49.0	27.2	23.7
Feb 2018	48.5	27.3	24.2
Mar 2018	47.9	27.4	24.7
Apr 2018	47.5	27.7	24.8
May 2018	47.6	27.2	25.2
Jun 2018	48.8	26.8	24.4
Jul 2018	49.3	26.8	23.9
Aug 2018	48.6	27.5	23.8
Sep 2018	47.2	28.0	24.7
Oct 2018	46.7	28.5	24.7
Nov 2018	46.6	28.5	24.9
Dec 2018	47.9	28.5	23.6
Jan 2019	48.5	28.0	23.4
Feb 2019	48.0	27.6	24.3
Mar 2019	47.3	27.7	24.8
Apr 2019	47.1	27.3	25.6
May 2019	48.0	26.9	25.1
Jun 2019	47.8	27.0	25.2
Jul 2019	48.0	27.7	24.2
Aug 2019	48.3	28.1	23.5
Sep 2019	48.0	28.0	23.9
Oct 2019	48.0	27.2	24.8
Nov 2019	48.7	26.8	24.5
Dec 2019	48.6	27.5	23.9
Jan 2020	47.1	29.0	23.8
Feb 2020	45.6	29.8	24.4
Mar 2020	46.9	27.9	25.1
Apr 2020	47.3	23.2	29.5
May 2020	49.9	29.0	21.0
Jun 2020	49.4	32.8	17.9
Jul 2020	51.2	33.3	15.6
Aug 2020	52.1	31.6	16.2
Sep 2020	54.5	27.3	18.1
Oct 2020	53.8	27.0	19.2
Nov 2020	54.6	25.5	19.9
Dec 2020	54.7	24.9	20.4
Jan 2021	55.9	23.4	20.6
Feb 2021	55.3	23.7	21.0
Mar 2021	55.2	23.7	21.1
Apr 2021	55.4	23.7	20.9
May 2021	54.7	23.3	21.9
Jun 2021	55.3	23.4	21.3
Jul 2021	54.0	23.6	22.4
Aug 2021	53.7	24.2	22.0
Sep 2021	51.9	25.0	23.1
Oct 2021	51.9	25.6	22.5
Nov 2021	50.0	26.6	23.3
Dec 2021	48.3	27.9	23.8
Jan 2022	46.3	28.8	24.8
Feb 2022	45.7	29.7	24.5
Mar 2022	45.0	30.3	24.6
Apr 2022	44.8	29.9	25.3
May 2022	44.9	29.1	25.9
Jun 2022	45.3	28.9	25.8
Jul 2022	44.5	30.0	25.5
Aug 2022	44.3	30.8	24.8
Sep 2022	44.7	30.5	24.7
Oct 2022	46.0	29.1	24.9
Nov 2022	46.1	28.3	25.5
Dec 2022	45.7	29.2	25.1
Turning points are monthly. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Number of people not in the labor force who wanted a job changed little

People who are neither employed nor unemployed are classified as not in the labor force. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of people not in the labor force was 100.0 million, little changed from a year earlier. Most people who are not in the labor force do not want a job (about 95 percent at the end of 2022).^{^[10]} At the end of 2022, there were 5.5 million people outside the labor force who indicated they wanted a job.^{^[11]}Although this measure had declined since the 2020 recession, it was still above its prepandemic level of 4.8 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.^{^[12]} (See table 6.)

Table 6. Number of people not in the labor force, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (in thousands)
Category	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Category	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Total not in the labor force	99,869	99,392	99,614	99,742	99,983
Persons who currently want a job	5,823	5,621	5,728	5,745	5,462
Marginally attached to the labor force ^¹	1,639	1,459	1,536	1,522	1,415
Discouraged workers ^²	454	391	415	426	396
^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, those classified as marginally attached to the labor force numbered 1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, higher than the level in the fourth quarter of 2019. 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 were not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.) Among the marginally attached, people currently not looking for work because they felt that no jobs were available for them are defined as discouraged workers. The number of discouraged workers edged down because of population controls in 2022 and stood at 396,000 in the fourth quarter. (See chart 8.)

⁠

Chart 8. People not in the labor force, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2022 (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	5,152	1,546	427
Q2 2018	5,181	1,456	391
Q3 2018	5,283	1,490	442
Q4 2018	5,375	1,578	433
Q1 2019	5,226	1,446	426
Q2 2019	5,120	1,493	412
Q3 2019	5,003	1,430	386
Q4 2019	4,823	1,245	304
Q1 2020	5,156	1,434	435
Q2 2020	9,001	2,376	625
Q3 2020	7,305	1,985	604
Q4 2020	7,028	2,069	632
Q1 2021	6,928	1,913	560
Q2 2021	6,538	1,866	586
Q3 2021	6,025	1,709	441
Q4 2021	5,823	1,639	454
Q1 2022	5,621	1,459	391
Q2 2022	5,728	1,536	415
Q3 2022	5,745	1,522	426
Q4 2022	5,462	1,415	396
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.

Overall labor force participation rate changed little

The overall labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, held steady over the year (after accounting for the effects of the annual population controls introduced at the beginning of the year). The participation rate fell precipitously with the onset of the pandemic, but then it rebounded quickly and continued to trend up in 2021. However, the upward trend faded in early 2022, and by the end of the year, the participation rate was still more than a full percentage point below its prepandemic value.

Labor force participation showed little movement for most race and ethnicity groups

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, the labor force participation rates for Whites (62.0 percent), Hispanics (66.0 percent), and Asians (64.6 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2022 were about in line with their year-earlier figures. However, the labor force participation rate for Blacks, at 62.3 percent in the fourth quarter, rose markedly over the year.

Labor force participation increased for people of prime working age

After a steep pandemic-related decline, the labor force participation rate for prime-working-age people, those ages 25 to 54, increased in 2021 and then continued to trend up in 2022, averaging 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Despite this upward trend, the group’s labor force participation rate remained below its prepandemic value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 (82.9 percent). (See table 2.)

The labor force participation rate for older workers, those 55 years and older, declined in 2022 (after accounting for population controls), averaging 38.8 percent in the fourth quarter and remaining well below its value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 (40.3 percent). Recent research indicates that the shortfall in the overall U.S. labor force participation rate relative to its prepandemic level is partly due to excess retirements among older workers.^{^[13]}

For younger workers, those ages 16 to 24, the labor force participation rate showed little movement in 2022, averaging 55.7 percent in the fourth quarter, not much different from a year earlier.

Employment growth continued

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of employed people averaged 158.8 million. While employment growth continued in 2022 (after accounting for the effects of annual population controls introduced at the beginning of the year), the pace of job growth slowed from that observed in 2021. The employment–population ratio (the percentage of the population ages 16 and older who are employed) increased in 2022, but it remained below its level recorded for the fourth quarter of 2019. From the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022, employment increased for both men and women. The employment–population ratio increased for men but changed little for women. (See table 1 and chart 9.)

⁠

Chart 9. Labor force participation rate and employment–population ratio, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2000–2022 (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	62.8	60.3
Q2 2018	62.9	60.4
Q3 2018	62.8	60.4
Q4 2018	63.0	60.5
Q1 2019	63.1	60.7
Q2 2019	62.9	60.6
Q3 2019	63.1	60.9
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	61.6	57.4
Q1 2021	61.4	57.6
Q2 2021	61.6	58.0
Q3 2021	61.7	58.6
Q4 2021	61.9	59.3
Q1 2022	62.3	59.9
Q2 2022	62.2	60.0
Q3 2022	62.2	60.0
Q4 2022	62.2	60.0
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–population ratio rose sharply for Blacks

Employment rose for all major race and ethnicity groups in 2022. The employment–population ratio for Blacks increased sharply over the year. At 58.7 percent in the fourth quarter, this ratio was up about 2 percentage points from a year earlier. The employment–population ratios for Whites (60.0 percent in the fourth quarter), Hispanics (63.3 percent), and Asians (62.9 percent) showed little change over the year. (See table 1.)

Employment expanded for people of prime working age and older age groups

Employment for prime-working-age people, those ages 25 to 54, increased in 2022. The employment–population ratio for this group increased over the year, to 79.9 percent in the fourth quarter, which is slightly below the prepandemic value of 80.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

The number of employed people ages 55 and older increased in 2022, with men accounting for much of that increase. The employment–population ratio for older workers was 37.8 percent in the fourth quarter, not much different from a year earlier (after taking population controls into account).

Employment for younger workers, those ages 16 to 24, changed little in 2022. While employment grew for people ages 16 to 19, it was essentially unchanged for 20-to 24-year-olds. The employment–population ratio for people ages 16 to 24 was 51.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, little different from the value of 51.4 percent in the fourth quarter in 2021.

Employment growth was strongest for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher

For people ages 25 and older, employment among those with less than a high school diploma (8.5 million) and the employment–population ratio for that group (43.5 percent) were essentially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022 (after accounting for population controls). Employment for high school graduates with no college (33.9 million) and their employment–population ratio (53.8 percent) changed little over the year. Employment among people with some college or an associate’s degree (34.7 million) changed little over the year, and the employment–population ratio for this group (60.8 percent) was essentially unchanged in 2022. Employment among people with a bachelor’s degree and higher increased over the year, rising to 61.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The employment–population ratio for this group, at 71.2 percent in the fourth quarter, was little changed from a year earlier. (See table 3.)

Employment increased for several major occupational groups

In 2022, employment in management, professional, and related occupations increased to 68.1 million. This category accounted for the largest increase in employment of the major occupational groups. (Data are annual averages.) Employment in management, professional, and related occupations made up 43.0 percent of the total number of employed people in 2022. (See table 7.)

Table 7. Employment, by occupational group and sex, annual averages, 2021–2022 (in thousands)
Occupational group	Total		Men		Women
Occupational group	2021	2022	2021	2022	2021	2022
Total, 16 years and over	152,581	158,291	80,829	84,203	71,752	74,089
Management, professional, and related occupations	64,744	68,099	31,109	33,016	33,636	35,083
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	27,864	29,350	15,231	16,188	12,633	13,162
Professional and related occupations	36,880	38,749	15,878	16,828	21,003	21,921
Service occupations	24,403	25,438	10,328	10,935	14,075	14,503
Healthcare support occupations	4,887	4,930	728	757	4,158	4,173
Protective service occupations	2,987	3,057	2,276	2,346	711	711
Food preparation and serving related occupations	7,370	7,907	3,343	3,690	4,027	4,218
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5,482	5,576	3,198	3,235	2,285	2,341
Personal care and service occupations	3,676	3,968	783	907	2,893	3,061
Sales and office occupations	30,166	30,412	11,604	11,764	18,563	18,649
Sales and related occupations	14,369	14,316	7,219	7,237	7,150	7,079
Office and administrative support occupations	15,797	16,096	4,384	4,527	11,413	11,570
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	13,959	14,260	13,181	13,442	778	818
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	1,061	980	804	723	257	257
Construction and extraction occupations	8,057	8,427	7,746	8,070	311	357
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,840	4,853	4,630	4,649	210	204
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	19,309	20,082	14,608	15,046	4,700	5,036
Production occupations	7,950	8,256	5,703	5,797	2,247	2,459
Transportation and material moving occupations	11,359	11,826	8,906	9,249	2,453	2,578
Note: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Employment in service occupations increased to 25.4 million in 2022. Employment in this occupational group remained below its 2019 prepandemic level. Within the service occupational group, employment in food preparation and serving related occupations increased to 7.9 million. Employment in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (14.3 million) showed little change from the 2021 average. Similarly, employment in sales and office occupations (30.4 million) showed little change. At the same time, the number of employed workers in production, transportation, and material moving occupations increased to 20.1 million.

Number of self-employed workers was little changed

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of nonagricultural self-employed workers, at 9.1 million, changed little over the year. This is in contrast to the employment increase of nonagricultural self-employed workers in 2021.^{^[14]} The nonagricultural self-employment rate (the proportion of total nonagricultural employment made up of self-employed workers) was 5.8 percent at the end of 2022, down from 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See table 8 and chart 10.)

Table 8. Employed people, by class of worker, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (in thousands)
Class of worker	Fourth quarter 2021	2022
Class of worker	Fourth quarter 2021	First quarter	Second quarter	Third quarter	Fourth quarter
Agriculture and related industries	2,278	2,346	2,323	2,254	2,248
Wage and salary workers	1,480	1,530	1,520	1,520	1,494
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	768	776	773	698	733
Nonagricultural industries	153,065	155,096	155,858	156,479	156,578
Wage and salary workers	143,736	146,262	146,409	147,126	147,459
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	9,320	9,180	9,205	9,041	9,089
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.

⁠

Chart 10. Nonagricultural self-employment rate, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1968–2022 (in percent)
Quarter	Self-employment rate
Q1 1968	7.1
Q2 1968	7.0
Q3 1968	7.0
Q4 1968	7.1
Q1 1969	7.1
Q2 1969	7.1
Q3 1969	7.1
Q4 1969	6.9
Q1 1970	6.9
Q2 1970	6.8
Q3 1970	7.0
Q4 1970	7.0
Q1 1971	7.1
Q2 1971	7.1
Q3 1971	6.9
Q4 1971	7.0
Q1 1972	7.0
Q2 1972	6.8
Q3 1972	6.8
Q4 1972	6.7
Q1 1973	6.7
Q2 1973	6.7
Q3 1973	6.7
Q4 1973	6.7
Q1 1974	6.7
Q2 1974	6.9
Q3 1974	6.9
Q4 1974	6.9
Q1 1975	6.8
Q2 1975	6.9
Q3 1975	6.9
Q4 1975	7.0
Q1 1976	6.8
Q2 1976	6.7
Q3 1976	6.7
Q4 1976	6.8
Q1 1977	6.8
Q2 1977	6.9
Q3 1977	6.9
Q4 1977	6.9
Q1 1978	7.0
Q2 1978	7.0
Q3 1978	6.9
Q4 1978	6.9
Q1 1979	7.0
Q2 1979	7.1
Q3 1979	7.2
Q4 1979	7.2
Q1 1980	7.2
Q2 1980	7.2
Q3 1980	7.4
Q4 1980	7.4
Q1 1981	7.3
Q2 1981	7.3
Q3 1981	7.3
Q4 1981	7.4
Q1 1982	7.3
Q2 1982	7.6
Q3 1982	7.6
Q4 1982	7.7
Q1 1983	7.7
Q2 1983	7.8
Q3 1983	7.8
Q4 1983	7.8
Q1 1984	7.8
Q2 1984	7.7
Q3 1984	7.6
Q4 1984	7.5
Q1 1985	7.5
Q2 1985	7.5
Q3 1985	7.5
Q4 1985	7.5
Q1 1986	7.3
Q2 1986	7.3
Q3 1986	7.5
Q4 1986	7.5
Q1 1987	7.6
Q2 1987	7.5
Q3 1987	7.5
Q4 1987	7.5
Q1 1988	7.5
Q2 1988	7.8
Q3 1988	7.6
Q4 1988	7.6
Q1 1989	7.6
Q2 1989	7.5
Q3 1989	7.5
Q4 1989	7.5
Q1 1990	7.5
Q2 1990	7.5
Q3 1990	7.5
Q4 1990	7.6
Q1 1991	7.7
Q2 1991	7.8
Q3 1991	7.7
Q4 1991	7.7
Q1 1992	7.5
Q2 1992	7.4
Q3 1992	7.5
Q4 1992	7.5
Q1 1993	7.6
Q2 1993	7.7
Q3 1993	7.6
Q4 1993	7.6
Q1 1994	7.7
Q2 1994	7.6
Q3 1994	7.5
Q4 1994	7.4
Q1 1995	7.3
Q2 1995	7.3
Q3 1995	7.4
Q4 1995	7.3
Q1 1996	7.4
Q2 1996	7.3
Q3 1996	7.2
Q4 1996	7.3
Q1 1997	7.4
Q2 1997	7.2
Q3 1997	7.0
Q4 1997	7.0
Q1 1998	7.0
Q2 1998	7.0
Q3 1998	7.0
Q4 1998	6.9
Q1 1999	6.8
Q2 1999	6.8
Q3 1999	6.8
Q4 1999	6.7
Q1 2000	6.9
Q2 2000	6.9
Q3 2000	6.9
Q4 2000	6.7
Q1 2001	6.8
Q2 2001	6.8
Q3 2001	6.8
Q4 2001	6.7
Q1 2002	6.5
Q2 2002	6.6
Q3 2002	6.7
Q4 2002	6.8
Q1 2003	6.8
Q2 2003	6.8
Q3 2003	7.0
Q4 2003	7.0
Q1 2004	6.9
Q2 2004	6.8
Q3 2004	7.0
Q4 2004	7.0
Q1 2005	7.0
Q2 2005	6.9
Q3 2005	6.7
Q4 2005	6.7
Q1 2006	6.9
Q2 2006	6.8
Q3 2006	6.7
Q4 2006	6.9
Q1 2007	6.7
Q2 2007	6.7
Q3 2007	6.6
Q4 2007	6.5
Q1 2008	6.5
Q2 2008	6.5
Q3 2008	6.5
Q4 2008	6.2
Q1 2009	6.5
Q2 2009	6.5
Q3 2009	6.6
Q4 2009	6.6
Q1 2010	6.6
Q2 2010	6.5
Q3 2010	6.4
Q4 2010	6.4
Q1 2011	6.4
Q2 2011	6.3
Q3 2011	6.1
Q4 2011	6.2
Q1 2012	6.2
Q2 2012	6.2
Q3 2012	6.3
Q4 2012	6.3
Q1 2013	6.1
Q2 2013	6.1
Q3 2013	6.2
Q4 2013	6.0
Q1 2014	6.0
Q2 2014	5.9
Q3 2014	6.0
Q4 2014	6.1
Q1 2015	5.9
Q2 2015	6.1
Q3 2015	5.9
Q4 2015	5.8
Q1 2016	5.9
Q2 2016	6.0
Q3 2016	5.8
Q4 2016	5.9
Q1 2017	5.8
Q2 2017	5.7
Q3 2017	5.7
Q4 2017	5.9
Q1 2018	5.9
Q2 2018	5.8
Q3 2018	5.7
Q4 2018	5.8
Q1 2019	5.7
Q2 2019	5.6
Q3 2019	5.7
Q4 2019	5.7
Q1 2020	5.7
Q2 2020	5.9
Q3 2020	6.0
Q4 2020	5.9
Q1 2021	6.1
Q2 2021	6.1
Q3 2021	6.3
Q4 2021	6.1
Q1 2022	5.9
Q2 2022	5.9
Q3 2022	5.8
Q4 2022	5.8
Turning points are quarterly. Q1 = first quarter, Q2 = second quarter, Q3 = third quarter, and Q4 = fourth quarter. The nonagricultural self-employment rate is the number of nonagricultural self-employed workers as a percentage of total nonagricultural employment. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Number of people employed part time for economic reasons fell below its prepandemic level

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, also referred to as involuntary part-time employment) was 3.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, slightly below prepandemic levels.^{^[15]} Historically, slack work or unfavorable business conditions, rather than an inability to find full-time work, has been the primary reason for involuntarily working part time. 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. (See chart 11.)

⁠

Chart 11. Number of people employed part time for economic reasons, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 1994–2022 (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	5,045	3,069	1,617
Q2 2018	4,907	3,058	1,505
Q3 2018	4,544	2,768	1,413
Q4 2018	4,615	2,839	1,504
Q1 2019	4,690	3,048	1,358
Q2 2019	4,484	2,787	1,380
Q3 2019	4,218	2,547	1,333
Q4 2019	4,235	2,654	1,265
Q1 2020	4,820	3,192	1,326
Q2 2020	10,208	9,169	852
Q3 2020	7,419	6,102	1,073
Q4 2020	6,459	5,125	1,105
Q1 2021	5,958	4,709	1,041
Q2 2021	5,040	3,824	1,004
Q3 2021	4,454	3,098	1,032
Q4 2021	4,203	2,863	1,044
Q1 2022	4,013	2,673	1,027
Q2 2022	3,994	2,678	982
Q3 2022	3,969	2,681	941
Q4 2022	3,743	2,576	868
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.

At the end of 2022, 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 from the fourth quarter of 2021 to 2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Over the same period, the number of women working part time for economic reasons decreased to 1.6 million. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Unemployment rate for veterans continues to decline

There were 18.3 million veterans in the civilian noninstitutional population in the fourth quarter of 2022. The largest share of veterans (33.5 percent) served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam-era (6.1 million). Veterans who served during Gulf War-era II accounted for the second-largest share of the veteran population, at 5.0 million, and there were 3.2 million veterans who served during Gulf War-era I. Also, there were 3.9 million veterans who served on active duty outside these designated wartime periods. Among veterans from all service periods, women accounted for 11.1 percent of the total veteran population in the fourth quarter of 2022.^{^[16]} (See table 9.)

Table 9. Employment status of people 18 years and older, by veteran status, period of service, and sex, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Employment status, veteran status, and period of service	Total		Men		Women
Employment status, veteran status, and period of service	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022
Veterans, 18 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	17,951	18,266	16,029	16,233	1,921	2,033
Civilian labor force	8,409	8,771	7,247	7,576	1,162	1,195
Participation rate	46.8	48.0	45.2	46.7	60.5	58.8
Employed	8,102	8,521	6,991	7,349	1,111	1,172
Employment–population ratio	45.1	46.7	43.6	45.3	57.8	57.7
Unemployed	307	249	256	226	51	23
Unemployment rate	3.6	2.8	3.5	3.0	4.4	1.9
Gulf War-era II veterans
Civilian labor force	3,620	4,030	3,048	3,339	572	691
Participation rate	78.7	80.6	80.5	81.7	70.3	75.7
Employed	3,471	3,911	2,924	3,236	547	675
Employment–population ratio	75.5	78.2	77.2	79.2	67.3	73.9
Unemployed	149	119	125	103	25	16
Unemployment rate	4.1	2.9	4.1	3.1	4.3	2.3
Gulf War-era I veterans
Civilian labor force	2,257	2,213	1,911	1,915	346	298
Participation rate	71.7	69.2	72.0	70.2	70.2	63.7
Employed	2,194	2,158	1,861	1,861	333	297
Employment–population ratio	69.7	67.5	70.1	68.2	67.6	63.4
Unemployed	62	55	49	54	13	1
Unemployment rate	2.8	2.5	2.6	2.8	3.7	0.3
World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans
Civilian labor force	1,011	920	960	879	51	41
Participation rate	16.1	15.0	15.8	14.9	23.0	16.9
Employed	971	888	925	849	46	40
Employment–population ratio	15.4	14.5	15.2	14.4	20.8	16.3
Unemployed	40	32	35	30	5	2
Unemployment rate	3.9	3.5	3.6	3.5	^¹	^¹
Veterans of other service periods
Civilian labor force	1,521	1,608	1,328	1,443	193	165
Participation rate	38.9	40.8	37.8	40.8	49.0	40.5
Employed	1,466	1,564	1,281	1,404	185	161
Employment–population ratio	37.5	39.7	36.5	39.7	47.0	39.4
Unemployed	55	43	47	39	8	4
Unemployment rate	3.6	2.7	3.6	2.7	4.1	2.6
Nonveterans, 18 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	235,053	237,076	106,245	108,027	128,808	129,049
Civilian labor force	151,277	153,228	77,328	78,742	73,949	74,485
Participation rate	64.4	64.6	72.8	72.9	57.4	57.7
Employed	145,399	148,198	74,289	76,163	71,110	72,034
Employment–population ratio	61.9	62.5	69.9	70.5	55.2	55.8
Unemployed	5,877	5,030	3,039	2,579	2,838	2,451
Unemployment rate	3.9	3.3	3.9	3.3	3.8	3.3
^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.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate for all veterans was 2.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted). This fourth quarter rate is 0.8 percentage point lower than the previous year’s rate and 7.0 percentage points lower from its peak in the second quarter of 2020 (9.8 percent). In comparison, the jobless rate for nonveterans declined by 0.6 percentage point to 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The labor force participation rate for veterans increased over the year to 48.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the rate for nonveterans changed little, at 64.6 percent. Labor force participation rates, for veterans and nonveterans, tend to be lower for older people than they are for people of prime working age. For instance, the labor force participation rate for those who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam-era, who are all over age 60, was 15.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, little changed from the year prior. In contrast, Gulf War-era II veterans, who tend to be younger, had a much higher participation rate, 80.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, also little changed from a year earlier.

Labor market improved for both people with and people with no disability

Although the job market remains especially challenging for people with a disability, the employment situation for this group showed some improvement in 2022. In the fourth quarter, their labor force participation rate was little changed, at 23.7 percent; however, their employment–population ratio increased to 22.3 percent. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Among people with no disability, the labor force participation rate was 67.6 percent, and the employment–population ratio was 65.4 percent. (See table 10.)

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate for people with a disability reached its lowest level (6.1 percent) since collection of these data began in 2008.^{^[17]} But the unemployment rate for people with a disability continues to be substantially higher than the unemployment rate for people with no disability (3.2 percent).

Table 10. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by sex, age, and disability status, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Employment status, sex, and age	Persons with a disability		Persons with no disability
Employment status, sex, and age	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022
Total, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	31,859	32,818	230,165	231,877
Civilian labor force	7,229	7,776	154,657	156,641
Participation rate	22.7	23.7	67.2	67.6
Employed	6,634	7,304	148,865	151,617
Employment–population ratio	20.8	22.3	64.7	65.4
Unemployed	595	471	5,792	5,023
Unemployment rate	8.2	6.1	3.7	3.2
Men, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	3,018	3,236	76,510	77,986
Participation rate	38.3	39.6	82.0	82.4
Employed	2,748	3,020	73,573	75,435
Employment–population ratio	34.9	37.0	78.9	79.7
Unemployed	270	216	2,937	2,551
Unemployment rate	8.9	6.7	3.8	3.3
Women, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	2,904	3,146	68,490	68,856
Participation rate	35.9	38.1	71.4	71.6
Employed	2,652	2,945	65,905	66,631
Employment–population ratio	32.7	35.6	68.7	69.3
Unemployed	252	201	2,585	2,225
Unemployment rate	8.7	6.4	3.8	3.2
Total, 65 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	15,887	16,389	41,006	41,080
Civilian labor force	1,306	1,393	9,657	9,799
Participation rate	8.2	8.5	23.6	23.9
Employed	1,233	1,339	9,387	9,552
Employment–population ratio	7.8	8.2	22.9	23.3
Unemployed	73	54	271	247
Unemployment rate	5.6	3.9	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 the foreign-born population slightly lower than that of the native-born population

The foreign-born population accounted for 18.5 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force ages 16 years and older in the fourth quarter of 2022, up from 17.8 percent a year earlier. Over the year, both the foreign-born and native-born populations saw a decrease in their unemployment rates, to 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.^{^[18]}(Data are not seasonally adjusted.) The employment–population ratios for foreign-born workers (64.0 percent) and native-born workers (59.2 percent) edged up over the year. (See table 11.)

Table 11. Employment status of the foreign- and native-born populations, by sex, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2021–2022 (levels in thousands)
Employment status and nativity	Total		Men		Women
Employment status and nativity	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022	Fourth quarter 2021	Fourth quarter 2022
Foreign born, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	43,890	45,945	21,386	22,474	22,503	23,470
Civilian labor force	28,740	30,359	16,575	17,434	12,165	12,925
Participation rate	65.5	66.1	77.5	77.6	54.1	55.1
Employed	27,628	29,400	15,999	16,886	11,630	12,514
Employment–population ratio	62.9	64.0	74.8	75.1	51.7	53.3
Unemployed	1,112	960	576	548	535	412
Unemployment rate	3.9	3.2	3.5	3.1	4.4	3.2
Native born, 16 years and older
Civilian noninstitutional population	218,134	218,751	105,390	106,502	112,744	112,249
Civilian labor force	133,146	134,057	69,044	70,025	64,102	64,032
Participation rate	61.0	61.3	65.5	65.7	56.9	57.0
Employed	127,870	129,522	66,222	67,633	61,648	61,889
Employment–population ratio	58.6	59.2	62.8	63.5	54.7	55.1
Unemployed	5,276	4,535	2,822	2,392	2,454	2,143
Unemployment rate	4.0	3.4	4.1	3.4	3.8	3.3
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.

Foreign-born workers continued to have a higher labor force participation rate than native-born workers in 2022. The labor force participation rates for foreign-born (66.1 percent) and native-born workers (61.3 percent) were little changed over the year.

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers increased but did not keep pace with inflation

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers were $1,059 in 2022, up by 6.1 percent from 2021.^{^[19]}(Data are annual averages.) During the same period, inflation was 8.0 percent, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Real median usual weekly earnings (adjusted with the use of the CPI-U) declined 1.6 percent from 2021.^{^[20]} (See table 12.) Women’s median weekly earnings were $958 in 2022; this was 83.0 percent of men’s median weekly earnings ($1,154). 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 12. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by selected characteristics, annual averages, 2021–2022
Characteristic	Current dollars			Constant (1982–84) dollars
Characteristic	2021	2022	Percent change, 2021–22	2021	2022	Percent change, 2021–22
Total, 16 years and older	$998	$1,059	6.1	$368	$362	-1.6
Men	1,097	1,154	5.2	405	394	-2.7
Women	912	958	5.0	336	327	-2.7
White	1,018	1,085	6.6	376	371	-1.3
Men	1,125	1,172	4.2	415	401	-3.4
Women	925	973	5.2	341	333	-2.3
Black or African American	801	878	9.6	296	300	1.4
Men	825	921	11.6	304	315	3.6
Women	776	835	7.6	286	285	-0.3
Asian	1,328	1,401	5.5	490	479	-2.2
Men	1,453	1,559	7.3	536	533	-0.6
Women	1,141	1,234	8.2	421	422	0.2
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	777	823	5.9	287	281	-2.1
Men	820	887	8.2	303	303	0.0
Women	718	761	6.0	265	260	-1.9
Total, 25 years and older	1,057	1,123	6.2	390	384	-1.6
Less than a high school diploma	626	682	8.9	231	233	0.9
High school graduate, no college	809	853	5.4	299	291	-2.4
Some college or associate's degree	925	969	4.8	341	331	-3.0
Bachelor's degree or higher	1,452	1,544	6.3	536	528	-1.5
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.

⁠

Chart 12. Women’s median usual weekly earnings as a percentage of men’s, full-time wage and salary workers, annual averages, 1979–2022
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
2022	83.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Median weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 64. By age group, median weekly earnings were $1,297 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,336 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,294 for men ages 55 to 64. Women’s median weekly earnings were also highest for workers ages 35 to 64. Median weekly earnings were $1,065 for women ages 35 to 44, $1,058 for women ages 45 to 54, and $1,007 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, $713 and $656, respectively. Men's and women's earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers. For example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 92.0 percent as much as men in the same age group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 73.1 percent for those ages 65 and over. (See chart 13.)

⁠

Chart 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by age and sex, annual averages, 2022
Age	Men	Women
Total, 16 years and older	$1,154	$958
16 to 24 years	713	656
25 to 34 years	1,040	938
35 to 44 years	1,297	1,065
45 to 54 years	1,336	1,058
55 to 64 years	1,294	1,007
65 years and older	1,196	874
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings increased for all groups. From 2021 to 2022, earnings increased (in nominal terms) by 9.6 percent for Blacks ($878), 6.6 percent for Whites ($1,085), 5.9 percent for Hispanics ($823), and 5.5 percent for Asians ($1,401). (See table 12.) The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity; the ratio was higher among Blacks and Hispanics. For example, White women earned 83.0 percent as much as White men; Black women earned 90.7 percent as much as Black men; Asian women earned 79.2 percent as much as Asian men; and Hispanic women earned 85.8 percent as much as Hispanic men.

Among workers ages 25 years and older, those with less than a high school diploma had the largest over-the-year increase in median weekly earnings in comparison with other educational attainment groups. Earnings for workers with less than a high school diploma ($682) rose by 8.9 percent from 2021 to 2022. (See table 12.)

Among the major occupational groups, people employed full time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings in 2022: $1,726 for men and $1,284 for women. As has historically been the case, men ($767) and women ($643) employed in service occupations earned the least among the major occupational groups in 2022. (See table 13.)

Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by occupation and sex, annual averages, 2021–2022
Occupation and sex	Number of workers (in thousands)		Median weekly earnings
Occupation and sex	2021	2022	2021	2022	Percent change, 2021–22
Total, 16 years and over	114,316	118,869	$998	$1,059	6.1
Management, professional, and related occupations	51,166	53,962	1,390	1,465	5.4
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	21,529	22,707	1,482	1,569	5.9
Professional and related occupations	29,637	31,255	1,335	1,392	4.3
Service occupations	14,630	15,468	644	697	8.2
Sales and office occupations	21,748	21,978	826	880	6.5
Sales and related occupations	9,281	9,170	887	941	6.1
Office and administrative support occupations	12,467	12,808	806	847	5.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	11,182	11,386	919	965	5.0
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	800	762	623	645	3.5
Construction and extraction occupations	6,171	6,406	904	943	4.3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,211	4,218	1,017	1,043	2.6
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	15,590	16,076	774	821	6.1
Production occupations	7,107	7,352	809	862	6.6
Transportation and material moving occupations	8,483	8,724	738	796	7.9
Men, 16 years and over	62,928	65,554	1,097	1,154	5.2
Management, professional, and related occupations	24,561	26,229	1,609	1,726	7.3
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	11,231	12,079	1,672	1,772	6.0
Professional and related occupations	13,330	14,150	1,555	1,647	5.9
Service occupations	7,000	7,463	723	767	6.1
Sales and office occupations	8,677	8,741	970	1,019	5.1
Sales and related occupations	5,090	5,048	1,049	1,139	8.6
Office and administrative support occupations	3,587	3,693	899	933	3.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	10,635	10,823	930	979	5.3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	651	582	637	661	3.8
Construction and extraction occupations	5,965	6,195	908	951	4.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,019	4,047	1,023	1,051	2.7
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	12,056	12,298	825	891	8.0
Production occupations	5,251	5,314	884	943	6.7
Transportation and material moving occupations	6,804	6,984	786	842	7.1
Women, 16 years and over	51,388	53,315	912	958	5.0
Management, professional, and related occupations	26,605	27,733	1,222	1,284	5.1
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	10,299	10,629	1,306	1,409	7.9
Professional and related occupations	16,306	17,104	1,167	1,229	5.3
Service occupations	7,630	8,005	598	643	7.5
Sales and office occupations	13,071	13,236	766	810	5.7
Sales and related occupations	4,191	4,122	720	783	8.8
Office and administrative support occupations	8,880	9,115	779	818	5.0
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	547	562	696	700	0.6
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	149	180	585	611	4.4
Construction and extraction occupations	207	211	720	796	10.6
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	192	171	836	861	3.0
Production, transportation, and material-moving occupations	3,535	3,778	638	694	8.8
Production occupations	1,856	2,038	653	700	7.2
Transportation and material-moving occupations	1,679	1,740	624	687	10.1
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 2022, the labor market continued to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and several labor market measures returned to their prepandemic levels. Over the year, the national unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent, which was down 0.6 percentage point from 2021. Total employment continued to expand; the employment–population ratio increased from the previous year, but the labor force participation rate changed little. The jobless rate declined for all major race and ethnicity groups. The number of people working part time for economic reasons also declined over the year. Median usual weekly earnings increased to $1,059 in 2022; this was 6.1 percent higher than earnings in 2021, but the increase did not keep pace with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Appendix A: The CPS and the CES

BLS produces two monthly employment series obtained from two different surveys: an estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, also called the establishment or payroll survey; and an estimate of total civilian employment, derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), also called the household survey. The two surveys use different definitions of employment, as well as different survey and estimation methods. The CES survey is a survey of employers that provides a measure of the number of payroll jobs in nonfarm industries. The CPS is a survey of households that provides a measure of employed people ages 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population.

Employment estimates from the CPS provide information about workers in both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and in all types of work arrangements: workers with wage and salary jobs (including employment in a private household), workers who are self-employed, and workers doing unpaid work for at least 15 hours per week in a business or farm operated by a family member. CES payroll employment estimates are restricted to nonagricultural wage and salary jobs and exclude private household workers. As a result, employment estimates from the CPS are higher than those from the CES survey. In the CPS, however, workers who hold multiple jobs (referred to as “multiple jobholders”) are counted only once, regardless of how many jobs these workers held during the survey reference period. By contrast, because the CES survey counts the number of jobs rather than the number of people, each nonfarm job is counted separately, even when two or more jobs are held by the same person.

The reference periods for the surveys also differ. In the CPS, the reference period is generally the calendar week that includes the 12th day of the month. In the CES survey, employers report the number of workers on their payrolls for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Because pay periods vary in length among employers and may be longer than 1 week, the CES employment estimates can reflect longer reference periods.

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 3, 2023), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.htm.

Appendix B: Adjustments to population estimates for the CPS

Updated population controls for the CPS are introduced annually with the publication of January data in The Employment Situation news release. The change in population reflected in the estimates introduced in January 2022 is based on a blended 2020 population base, which combines population totals from the 2020 census and demographic characteristics from other sources. Consequently, data for 2022 are not strictly comparable to those for earlier years. For the analysis presented in this article, the effects of the updated population controls have been taken into account.

The adjustment increased the estimated size of the civilian noninstitutional population in December 2021 by 973,000, the civilian labor force by 1,530,000, employment by 1,471,000, and unemployment by 59,000. People not in the labor force decreased by 557,000. Although the adjustment did not affect the total unemployment rate, it did increase the labor force participation rate and the employment–population ratio, each by 0.3 percentage point. These increases were due mostly to an increase in the population in age groups that participate in the labor force at high rates (those ages 35 to 64) and a large decrease in the population ages 65 and older, whose members participate in the labor force at a low rate.

For additional information on the population adjustments and their effect on national labor force estimates, see “Adjustments to household survey population estimates in January 2022” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2022), https://www.bls.gov/cps/population-control-adjustments-2022.pdf.

Suggested citation:

Lawrence S. Essien, Michael Daniel Levinstein, and Greg Owens, "Unemployment rate returned to its prepandemic level in 2022," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2023, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2023.15

Notes

^¹ 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 September 1, 2022), https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.

^² 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 2021 data with fourth-quarter 2022 data, unless noted otherwise. Comparisons to prepandemic levels refer to data for the fourth quarter of 2019.

^³ In the CPS, unemployed people are defined as those ages 16 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 need to have searched for work.

^⁴ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces two sets of national employment estimates each month from two different surveys: an estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the Current Employment Statistics survey, also known as the establishment or payroll survey, and an 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 appendix A and appendix B of this article and “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 3, 2023), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.htm.

^⁵ For more information, see Teresa Ghilarducci, “In the latest jobs report, older workers tell us a lot about the economy,” Forbes, November 4, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresaghilarducci/2022/11/04/mixed-unemployment-report-for-older-workers/?sh=610652967478.

^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 The Current Population Survey collects data on the different reasons 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/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 their own temporary illness). Unlike other unemployed people, those on temporary layoff do not need to look for work to be classified as unemployed. Pay status is not a criterion to be unemployed on temporary layoff. People absent from work because of temporary layoff are classified as unemployed on temporary layoff, whether or not they are paid for the time they are off work.

^⁸ 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, and 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.

^⁹ 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.

^¹⁰ For more information, see Monica D. Castillo, “Persons outside the labor force who want a job,” Monthly Labor Review, July 1998, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1998/07/art3full.pdf

^¹¹ 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 to the question “Do you currently want a job, either full or part time?” with the answer “Yes or maybe, it depends.”

^¹² See Ron Wirtz, “Why is there a labor shortage? Ask workers” (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, February 24, 2023), https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2023/why-is-there-a-labor-shortage-ask-workers.

^¹³ For more information, see Jerome H. Powell, “Inflation and the Labor Market” (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November 30, 2022), https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm.

^¹⁴ 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, such as legal and tax considerations. Since 1967, the estimates of self-employment regularly published by BLS have included only the unincorporated self-employed workers. Although it is possible to identify the incorporated self-employed workers separately, these individuals are counted as wage and salary workers in the 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/.

^¹⁵ 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.

^¹⁶ In the CPS, veterans are defined as men and women ages 18 and over who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and who were civilians at the time the survey was conducted. Veterans are categorized as having served in the following periods of service: (1) Gulf War-era II (September 2001 to the present), (2) Gulf War-era I (August 1990 to August 2001), (3) World War II (December 1941 to December 1946), (4) Korean War (July 1950 to January 1955), (5) Vietnam-era (August 1964 to April 1975), and (6) other service period (all other periods). Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified into only the most recent period. Veterans who served in both a wartime period and any other service period are classified in the wartime period.

^¹⁷ Labor force statistics for people with and without a disability are available beginning in June 2008, the first month disability questions were added to the basic CPS.

^¹⁸ Foreign-born people are people who reside in the United States but were born outside the country or outside one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents who were not U.S. citizens. Foreign-born people include legally admitted immigrants; refugees; temporary residents, such as students and temporary workers; and undocumented immigrants.

^¹⁹ 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.

^²⁰ The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant (1982-84) dollars.