Question: What is women's labor force participation rate?

Answer: Labor force participation rate is defined as the civilian labor force as a percent of the civilian non-institutional population. In 2009, women's labor force participation rate was 59.2 percent. In other words, 59.2 percent of women age 16 and over were working or looking for work in 2009. Women comprised 47 percent of the total labor force (male and female) in 2009.

More labor force statistics for women are available from the Current Population Survey, which is published by the DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).