September 7, 2012 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
International labor force participation rates for women, 2011
In 2011, among the 16 countries covered by the BLS international comparisons program, New Zealand had the highest labor force participation rate among women (62.5 percent), followed by Canada (62.2 percent), Sweden (61.1 percent), Australia (60.0 percent), and the United States (58.1 percent).
[Chart data]
Turkey had the lowest women’s labor force participation rate among the 16 countries in 2011 (27.0 percent). Five other countries recorded rates of less than 50 percent: Italy (38.4 percent), Mexico (41.2 percent), Japan (47.7 percent), South Africa (47.9 percent), and the Republic of Korea (49.7 percent).
These data are from the International Labor Comparisons program. The labor force participation rate represents the proportion of the working-age population that is either employed or actively seeking employment. To learn more, see "International Comparisons of Annual Labor Force Statistics, Adjusted to U.S. Concepts, 16 Countries, 1970–2011" (HTML) (PDF).
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International comparisons |
Labor force |
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