Technical information:  (202) 691-6378     USDL 08-1803
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. (EST)
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902     Wednesday, December 10, 2008
                                   
                                   
               WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 2007


   A total of 157.7 million persons worked at some point during 2007, the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  
The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2007 was 
68.4 percent, the same as in 2006.  The number of persons who experienced 
some unemployment increased by 693,000, to 15.1 million.
   
   These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social
and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS).
The CPS is a monthly survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The ASEC collects information on em-
ployment and unemployment experienced during the prior calendar year.  
Additional information about the CPS and the ASEC, including concepts 
and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note.  Highlights from 
the 2007 data include:
   
   --The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16
     years and over who worked at some time during 2007 was 67.7 percent,
     essentially unchanged from 2006.
  
   --The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2007 
     was 68.4 percent, the same as in the prior year.

   --The "work-experience unemployment rate"--defined as the number unem-
     ployed at some time during the year as a proportion of the number
     who worked or looked for work during the year--was 9.5 percent in 
     2007, up from 9.1 percent in 2006.

Persons with Employment

   The percent of men who worked during 2007 was 74.1 percent, down
slightly from 74.4 percent in 2006.  The proportion of women who worked 
at some point during 2007 held at 61.6 percent.  (See table 1.)
   
   The proportions of whites (68.3 percent), blacks (63.5 percent), and 
Asians (67.8 percent) who worked at some time during the year were essen-
tially unchanged in 2007.  The proportion of Hispanics who worked at some 
point during 2007 (68.5 percent) was down from 2006 (69.1 percent).  (See
table 2.)

                               - 2 -
   
   Among those with work experience during 2007, 78.2 percent were em-
ployed year round (working 50 to 52 weeks, either full or part time), 
little changed from 2006.  The percentage of women working year round 
rose 0.9 percentage point to 75.7 percent in 2007, and the percentage 
of men employed year round edged down 0.4 percentage point to 80.5 per-
cent.  (See table 1.)
   
   Of those employed at some time during 2007, 80.9 percent usually
worked full time, the same share as in 2006.  Men were more likely to 
work full time during the year (87.4 percent) than were women (73.6 per-
cent), but the gap narrowed in 2007.  The incidence of men working full 
time declined by 0.4 percentage point while the incidence of women work-
ing full time increased by 0.6 percentage point.

Persons with Unemployment
   
   About 159.8 million persons worked or looked for work at some time
in 2007.  Of those, 15.1 million experienced some unemployment during
the year, up from 14.4 million in 2006.  Men accounted for the major-
ity of the over-the-year increase in unemployment.  (See table 3.)
   
   At 9.5 percent in 2007, the "work-experience unemployment rate"
(those looking for work during the year as a percent of those who
worked or looked for work during the year) was 0.4 percentage point
higher than in 2006.  The 2007 rate is relatively low by historical
standards, but is above the series low of 8.6 percent reached in 2000.
The rates for Hispanics (12.3 percent) and whites (9.0 percent) rose
in 2007, while the rates for blacks (12.7 percent) and Asians (6.9
percent) were little changed.  (See tables 3 and 4.)
   
   Overall, men continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment
rates" in 2007 than did women, 10.3 versus 8.6 percent, respectively.
Among whites, the rate for men (9.9 percent) was higher than that for 
women (8.0 percent).  This also was the case among blacks (13.9 and 11.6 
percent, respectively) and Hispanics (13.0 and 11.3 percent, respectively.)
The rates for Asian men (7.0 percent) and women (6.8 percent) were little 
different.
   
   Among those who experienced unemployment in 2007, the median number
of weeks spent looking for work was 13.8, unchanged from the prior
year.  About 2.1 million individuals looked for a job but did not work
at all in 2007, up from 1.9 million in 2006.  Of the 13.0 million per-
sons who worked during 2007 and also experienced unemployment, 23.8 per-
cent had 2 or more spells of joblessness, little different than the 
share in 2006.