For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday, December 8, 2011 USDL-11-1719
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsnfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION -- 2010
A total of 152.3 million persons worked at some point during 2010, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional
population age 16 and over who worked at some time during 2010 was 63.7 percent,
down from 64.9 percent in 2009. The number of persons who experienced some
unemployment during 2010 decreased by 894,000 to 25.2 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 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The ASEC collects information on employment 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 2010 data:
-- The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2010 was
64.7 percent, up from 64.0 percent in 2009. (See table 1.)
-- The "work-experience unemployment rate"--defined as the number of persons
unemployed at some time during the year as a proportion of the number of
persons who worked or looked for work during the year--was 15.9 percent
in 2010, down from 16.4 percent in 2009. (See table 3.)
-- The number of individuals who looked for a job but did not work at all
during 2010 rose by 715,000 over the year to 6.6 million. (See table 3.)
Persons with Employment
The percent of men who worked during 2010 was 69.3 percent, down from 70.6 percent
in 2009. The proportion of women who worked at some point during 2010 was 58.5
percent, down from 59.6 percent in the prior year. (See table 1.)
The proportions of whites (64.7 percent) and Hispanics (63.5 percent) who worked
at some time during the year declined from 2009 to 2010, while the share of blacks
(58.2 percent) and Asians (64.1 percent) were about unchanged. (See table 2.)
Of those employed at some time during 2010, 78.2 percent usually worked full time,
little changed from 78.3 percent in 2009. Men were more likely to work full time
during the year (84.3 percent) than were women (71.5 percent). In 2010, the
proportion of employed men and women working full time showed little or no change.
(See table 1.)
Of the total who worked during 2010, 75.9 percent were employed year round (working
50 to 52 weeks, either full or part time), compared with 75.3 percent in 2009. The
percentage of men employed year round rose by 1.1 percentage points to 76.7 percent
in 2010, and the percentage of women working year round was nearly unchanged at
75.0 percent.
Persons with Unemployment
About 158.9 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2010. Of
those, 25.2 million experienced some unemployment during the year, down slightly
from 26.1 million in 2009. (See table 3.)
At 15.9 percent in 2010, 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 0.5 percentage point lower than in 2009. The 2009 rate (16.4 percent) was
the highest since 1985. The rate for whites (15.0 percent) declined from 2009 to
2010, while the rates for blacks (22.5 percent), Hispanics (20.5 percent), and
Asians (12.9 percent) were little changed. (See tables 3 and 4.)
Overall, men continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment rates" in 2010
than women, 17.7 versus 13.8 percent. Among whites, the rate for men (16.8 percent)
was higher than that for women (12.8 percent). This also was the case for men and
women among blacks (25.9 and 19.5 percent, respectively) and Hispanics (22.4 and
18.0 percent, respectively). The rates for Asian men and women were the same (12.9
percent).
Among those who experienced unemployment in 2010, the median number of weeks spent
looking for work was 19.9, little changed from 19.7 in 2009. The number of persons
who looked for a job but did not work at all in 2010 rose by 715,000 to about 6.6
million. Of the 18.7 million individuals who worked during 2010 and also experienced
unemployment, 20.7 percent had 2 or more spells of joblessness, nearly the same as
in 2009 (20.5 percent).
