Household survey indicators weaken in 2007 (EXCERPT), Monthly Labor Review Online, March 2008

Household survey indicators weaken in 2007

James Marschall Borbely

Unemployment rose in 2007 and employment, as measured by the Current Population Survey (CPS), grew at a slower pace than in the previous year.¹ Both the rate and level of unemployment increased in 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2007, 7.4 million people were unemployed and the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. The labor force grew over the year at a slightly slower pace than the population; as a result, the labor force participation rate declined in 2007. Reflecting the relatively weak employment growth, the employment-population ratio trended down during the year, from 63.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 62.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Unemployment levels and rates—both overall and for most major worker groups—were higher in 2007. The unemployment rate for persons aged 16 years and older was 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from 4.4 percent in the same quarter a year earlier; it remained below the 10-year averages for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. (See chart 1.) The unemployment rate held at 4.5 percent for the first two quarters of 2007 before rising to 4.7 percent in the third quarter. The number of unemployed persons, at 7.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, increased by 600,000 over the year. (See table 1.)

This excerpt is from an article published in the March 2008 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.

Read abstract Download full article in PDF (358K)

Footnotes
1 The data in this article are based on information collected in the Current Population Survey (CPS), also called the household survey, a sample survey of about 60,000 households nationwide sponsored jointly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. (For more information about the household survey, see the box on page 8.) Although the CPS is a monthly survey, the data analyzed throughout this article are seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, unless otherwise noted. All over-the-year changes are comparisons of fourth quarter data from 2006 to 2007.

Related BLS programs

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Household survey data show labor market improvements.—Mar. 2007. Trends in labor force participation in the United States.—Oct. 2006. Lower unemployment in 2005.—Mar. 2006. Household survey indicators show some improvement in 2004.—Mar. 2005. The U.S. labor market in 2003: signs of improvement by year’s end—Mar. 2004. U.S. labor market in 2002: continued weakness—Feb. 2003. U.S. labor market in 2001: economy enters a recession—Feb. 2002. The job market in 2000: slowing down as the year ended.—Feb. 2001. The job market remains strong in 1999.—Feb. 2000. Job growth slows during crises overseas.—Feb. 1999. Strong job growth continues, unemployment declines in 1997.—Feb. 1998. Employment in 1996: jobs up, unemployment down.—Feb. 1997. Slower economic growth affects the 1995 labor market.—Mar. 1996. Strong employment gains continue in 1994.—Feb. 1995. BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment measures.—Oct. 1995.

Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives

Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research Papers