definition of jobs report

Some people work part time because they cannot find full-time work or because business is poor. Others work part time because of family obligations or other personal reasons. What is your main reason for working part time?

The Establishment Survey

This is based on data gathered each month from 146,000 private business and government agencies covering about 623,000 work sites. Called the Current Employment Statistics program, it is intended to measure changes in jobs created and lost over time. Conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it focuses solely on jobs, rather than on individuals. Thus, a single person working two jobs would be counted once by the household survey (one individual is employed) and twice by the payroll survey (two jobs exist).

Which survey provides the better data?

The survey of employers, started in a bare-bones form more than a century ago, is considered a more reliable measure than the household survey, in part because the sample is much larger. But it does not pick up all the types of jobs (the self-employed, unpaid family workers, domestic help and agricultural workers) or answer questions about workers’ race, ethnicity, age and educational level. The household survey helps fill in those gaps.

As a general rule, the monthly numbers are seasonally adjusted. That means the effects of predictable seasonal events like weather changes, major holidays and school schedules are removed (through a statistical technique) so that cyclical, underlying trends can be better observed.

Why are there so many different employment rates?

Unemployment can be defined several ways , and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes six different measures. The “official” unemployment rate, and the one most frequently cited, is the percentage of the adult civilian labor force without a job and actively searching for one. The broadest one, which includes both discouraged and underemployed workers — part-timers who would prefer full-time work if they could get it — tends to rise and fall with the official rate but is always larger.

The data also provide a window into how specific demographic groups (African-Americans, women, 25- to 34-year-olds) and industries (manufacturing, restaurants, retail) are faring from month to month.

When is it released?

The Labor Department releases its employment report on the first Friday of the next month (or occasionally the second Friday) at 8:30 a.m.

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Current Population Survey

Concepts and Definitions (CPS)

This page describes key concepts and definitions used for Current Population Survey (CPS, or "household" survey) data published by BLS from the monthly survey.

To learn more about the survey, see the CPS overview page .

To get CPS data produced by BLS, see the CPS Topics A to Z list or access CPS data series by subject .

Employment-population ratio

Active job search methods, unemployment rate, not in the labor force, people who want a job now, marginally attached to the labor force, discouraged workers, other people marginally attached to the labor force.

Alternative measures of labor underutilization (U-1—U-6)

With a job, not at work

Part time for economic or noneconomic reasons

Reasons for unemployment, job leavers, new entrants, duration of unemployment, long-term unemployed, occupation and industry, class of worker, wage and salary workers, self-employed, unpaid family workers, multiple jobholders, demographic concepts, educational attainment, hispanic or latino ethnicity, marital status, persons with a disability, veterans and nonveterans, foreign born and native born, earnings concepts, wage and salary workers for earnings purposes, usual weekly earnings, median earnings, deciles and quartiles of earnings, constant dollars and current dollars, survey and general data concepts, reference week and survey interview week.

Employment Situation release dates

Geographic scope and reference of the CPS

"basic" monthly survey versus the annual social and economic supplement (asec), seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data, labor force, employment, and unemployment concepts.

This section contains definitions for the key labor force concepts presented in BLS publications of Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

To find CPS labor force, employment, and unemployment data available from BLS, see the CPS labor force characteristics page or the CPS Topics A to Z Index .

The civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older is the base population group, or universe, used for Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics published by BLS. (See also geographic scope and reference of the CPS .)

The civilian noninstitutional population excludes the following:

Included in the civilian noninstitutional population are citizens of foreign countries who reside in the United States but do not live on the premises of an embassy.

The labor force includes all people age 16 and older who are classified as either employed and unemployed , as defined below. Conceptually, the labor force level is the number of people who are either working or actively looking for work.

Labor force participation rate, or participation rate

The labor force participation rate represents the number of people in the labor force as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population . In other words, the participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work.

The labor force participation rate is calculated as: (Labor Force ÷ Civilian Noninstitutional Population) x 100.

In the Current Population Survey (CPS), people are classified as employed if, during the survey reference week , they meet any of the following criteria:

For criteria 1 and 2, the work must be for pay or profit; that is, the individual receives a wage or salary, profits or fees, or payment in kind (such as housing, meals, or supplies received in place of cash wages). For the self-employed, this includes those who intended to earn a profit but whose business or farm produced a loss. See the definition of self-employed for further details.

Each employed person is counted only once in aggregate employment statistics from the CPS, even if they hold more than one job.

The following are not considered employment in the CPS.

The employment-population ratio represents the number of employed people as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population . In other words, it is the percentage of the population that is currently working.

The employment-population ratio is calculated as: (Employed ÷ Civilian Noninstitutional Population) x 100.

In the Current Population Survey, people are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following criteria:

People waiting to start a new job must have actively looked for a job within the last 4 weeks in order to be classified as unemployed. Otherwise, they are classified as not in the labor force .

Classification as unemployed in no way depends upon a person's eligibility for, or receipt of, unemployment insurance benefits.

There is no requirement or question relating to unemployment insurance benefits in the monthly Current Population Survey.

Active job search methods are defined as those that have the potential to result in a job offer without any further action on the part of the job seeker. Examples of active job search methods include:

Methods that do not constitute an active job search are referred to as passive job search methods. Passive methods are those that could not result in a job offer unless additional steps were taken. Examples include simply looking at job postings without taking further action, or taking a training course.

The distinction between active and passive job search methods is very important.

A job seeker is classified as unemployed only if he or she used at least one active job search method. Those who used only passive methods are classified as not in the labor force .

The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force (the labor force is the sum of the employed and unemployed).

The unemployment rate is calculated as: (Unemployed ÷ Labor Force) x 100.

In the Current Population Survey, people are classified as not in the labor force if:

In other words, people not in the labor force are those who do not meet the criteria to be classified as either employed or unemployed , as defined above.

People not in the labor force are asked whether they want a job and if they were available to take a job during the survey reference week. They also are asked about their job search activity in the last 12 months (or since the end of their last job, if they held one in the last 12 months) and their reason for not having looked for work in the most recent 4 weeks.

On the basis of this information, people not in the labor force are classified into several subgroups, including people who want a job now , people marginally attached to the labor force , and discouraged workers . These subgroups are defined below.

People who want a job now are a subset of those not in the labor force .

These individuals are not currently working and have not looked for work in the last 4 weeks. Because they have not actively looked for work in the last 4 weeks, they are not classified as unemployed.

People who want a job now answered "yes" when asked "Do you currently want a job, either full or part time?" They also are asked questions about their job search activities in the last 12 months and whether they were available to start a job during the survey reference week .

BLS publishes monthly estimates of the number of people who want a job now and the number who don't. These estimates include some survey respondents who were not actually asked the "want a job" question; their desire for work is inferred from their responses to other survey questions.

People classified as marginally attached to the labor force are a subset of those not in the labor force who currently want a job . (See the diagram above.)

In response to survey questions, people marginally attached to the labor force indicate that they have searched for work during the prior 12 months (or since their last job if it ended within the last 12 months), but not in the most recent 4 weeks. Because they did not actively search for work in the last 4 weeks, they are not classified as unemployed. In other words, the marginally attached are people who say they want a job, but who have recently stopped looking for work.

People marginally attached to the labor force also must have been available to take a job during the survey reference week , unless they were temporarily ill. Specifically, they are asked "Last week, could you have started a job if one had been offered?"

The marginally attached are further divided into two subgroups: 1) discouraged workers and 2) other people marginally attached to the labor force . These subgroups are defined below.

Discouraged workers are a subset of people marginally attached to the labor force , and also part of the broader group of people not in the labor force . (See the diagram above.) They are not classified as unemployed because they have not actively searched for work in the last 4 weeks.

When asked, "What is the main reason you were not looking for work during the last 4 weeks," these individuals indicate some type of discouragement about their job prospects. Their specific responses vary, but common ones include the following:

Discouraged workers are not counted among the unemployed.

To be classified as unemployed, they would have had to have looked for work in the last 4 weeks.

Other people marginally attached to the labor force are a subset of people not in the labor force . With discouraged workers , they make up the subgroup of people not in the labor force known as marginally attached to the labor force . (See the diagram above.)

When asked, "What is the main reason you were not looking for work during the last 4 weeks," these individuals gave a reason other than discouragement about their job prospects.

Common reasons for no recent job search given by people in this group include:

Alternative measures of labor underutilization (U-1 through U-6)

In addition to the official unemployment rate , the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a range of alternative measures of labor underutilization. Together, these are known as the U-1 through U-6 rates.

The U-1 and U-2 rates are defined more narrowly than the official unemployment rate. They include only selected subsets of those officially classified as unemployed .

U-3 is the official unemployment rate .

The U-4, U-5, and U-6 rates are more expansive than the official unemployment rate, incorporating additional groups of people not included in the official rate. Each rate—U-4, U-5, and U-6—is successively broader in scope, with U-6 being the broadest measure of labor underutilization.

All six rates, U-1 through U-6, are produced solely from data collected in the Current Population Survey.

People at work are a subset of the employed . They were at work for at least one hour during the survey reference week . The other subset of the employed are people with a job, not at work , defined below.

People with a job, not at work are a subset of the employed . They were absent from their job, business, or farm (with or without pay) for the entire survey reference week for temporary reasons such as:

For individuals on a leave of absence, including maternity and paternity leave, the key factor for determining "with a job" status is whether they have a specific arrangement to return to work. If there is an agreement with the employer to hold a job or find a place for him/her upon return, they are considered with a job.

For school personnel on summer or semester break, if they have definite arrangements or a contract (oral or written) to return to work after break, they are considered with a job.

People with a job, not at work are counted as employed whether or not they receive pay for the time off, and whether or not they were searching for other work during their absence.

Usual hours of work and actual hours at work

The Current Population Survey provides two types of work hours data to differentiate between a person's normal work schedule and their actual work hours during the survey reference week .

Data on hours at work include only people who were at work for at least one hour during the reference week. People who were not at work for the entire week are excluded. For multiple jobholders , published data reflect the number of hours worked at all jobs during the reference week.

Usual full time and usual part time

In Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics published by BLS, people are classified as full- or part-time workers based on the number of hours they usually work each week.

Because classification is based on a person's usual work schedule, full-time workers include some individuals who actually worked fewer than 35 hours in the reference week, and some who were temporarily absent from work all week.

For multiple jobholders , usual hours at all jobs combined determines their full- or part-time status.

BLS also publishes unemployment levels and rates by full- and part-time status. For the unemployed , those classified as full time either expressed a desire to work full time (35 or more hours per week) or were on layoff from a full-time job. Unemployed people classified as part time either expressed a desire to work part time (fewer than 35 hours per week) or were on layoff from a part-time job.

The full-time labor force is the sum of the full-time employed and unemployed. The part-time labor force is the sum of the part-time employed and unemployed. Unemployment rates for full- and part-time workers are calculated using the full- and part-time labor force levels as the denominator.

To provide additional information about part-time workers, BLS produces measures of people at work part time for economic and noneconomic reasons. These measures are based on a person's actual hours at work during the survey reference week .

People not at work during the reference week are excluded from these measures.

At work part time for economic reasons, also referred to as involuntary part-time workers

At work part time for noneconomic reasons

The number of people at work part time for economic and noneconomic reasons will not sum to totals.

In the Current Population Survey, unemployed people are asked additional questions about their status at the time they began looking for work. On the basis of their responses, they are categorized into one of four general reasons for unemployment, defined below.

IMPORTANT The following groups include only people classified as unemployed . They do not include people not in the labor force .

Duration of unemployment is the length of time, in weeks, that people classified as unemployed have been continuously looking for work. The number of weeks includes the current survey reference week . These measures reflect the still-in-progress spells of unemployment, not completed spells.

For the subset of unemployed people who are on temporary layoff waiting to be recalled to work, the duration of unemployment is the number of full weeks they have been on layoff.

The average and median duration statistics reflect people who are still unemployed.

These measures should not be interpreted as the length of time it takes someone to find a job, or how long they look for work before giving up their job search.

The Current Population Survey does not ask how long it took someone to find a job, and the duration measures do not provide that information.

In Bureau of Labor Statistics publications, the long-term unemployed are those who meet the Current Population Survey definition of unemployed and whose unemployment has lasted for 27 continuous weeks or more.

Long-term unemployment refers to an ongoing spell of unemployment that has lasted 27 continuous weeks or more. See also duration of unemployment .

Occupation Occupation describes a person's job or the type of work they do. Examples include a physical therapist, cashier, security guard, or electrician.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates for specific occupations like these on an annual basis. For monthly publication, occupations are grouped into broader categories of related jobs, such as sales and related occupations, and construction and extraction occupations.

Industry Industry describes the business activity of a person's employer or, if self-employed, of their company or business. Examples include a grocery store, hospital, bank, or aircraft manufacturer. An industry includes people with different occupations who work for the same type of business.

As with the occupational data, BLS publishes CPS estimates for specific industries like these on an annual basis, and groups them into broader categories of related industries for monthly publication. Examples of broader industry groups are manufacturing, retail trade, and professional and business services.

For a complete list of the specific occupations and industries currently identified in the CPS, along with the broader groups into which they are aggregated, see the Occupational and industry classification section of the CPS technical documentation.

Occupational and Industry Classification of the Employed For employed people , the occupation and industry classifications assigned in the CPS are based on the job they held during the survey reference week. In the case of people with more than one job , the occupation and industry are based on the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours during the reference week.

Occupational and Industry Classification of the Unemployed For the unemployed , the occupation and industry are based on the last job they held; this may or may not reflect their current area of job search. Because the occupation and industry for the unemployed are determined by their prior job, the CPS occupational and industry unemployment data reflect only the subset of total unemployed that have past job experience. This subset is called the "experienced" unemployed. Unemployed people with no prior work experience are shown separately in occupation- and industry-specific unemployment statistics published by BLS. People whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces also are shown separately.

Unemployment Rates by Occupation and Industry Occupation- and industry-specific unemployment rates are calculated as the experienced unemployed (expUE) divided by the sum of the employed (EMP) and experienced unemployed; the result is then multiplied by 100 to express as a percentage. (expUE ÷ (EMP + expUE)) x 100

Class of worker is a term used in the Current Population Survey to describe general categories of employment arrangements. Conceptually, class of worker distinguishes those who work for themselves (self-employed) from those who work for someone else.

In the survey process, workers are categorized into one of the following class of worker groups. (Definitions for each are provided below.)

For the employed , the class of worker category in which they are classified is based on the job they held in the survey reference week . Multiple jobholders are classified based on the job at which they usually worked the greatest number of hours.

For the unemployed , the class of worker category in which they are classified is based on the last job they held. (Unemployed people with no previous work experience are not included in the class of worker categories in unemployment tabulations; they are shown separately in these tabulations under "no previous work experience.")

Wage and salary workers are those who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, or payment in kind from a private-sector employer or from a local, state, or federal government agency or entity. This includes paid employees of charities, nonprofits, religious, and civic organizations.

In the labor force, employment, and unemployment data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates of wage and salary workers include the incorporated self-employed. This is because, technically, the incorporated self-employed are paid employees of their corporation.

The wage and salary worker data series published with CPS earnings data treat incorporated self-employed people differently. See wage and salary workers for earnings purposes for more information.

Self-employed people are those who work for profit or fees in their own business, profession, trade, or farm. This includes those who intended to earn a profit but whose business produced no profit or a loss. Therefore, self-employed people with zero or negative income from their business, profession, or farm are still classified as employed if they worked at least one hour in that enterprise during the survey reference week .

Self-employed people may be classified as employed before their business is in operation if they spent at least one hour during the survey reference week in activities setting up a new business such as:

People with ownership in a business or farm solely for investment purposes, with no participation in its management or operation, are not considered employed in the Current Population Survey (CPS) based on this ownership stake, and therefore are not included in the self-employed estimates.

Unless otherwise specified, CPS estimates of the self-employed published by BLS reflect only people whose businesses are unincorporated. In most CPS estimates, the incorporated self-employed are classified as wage and salary workers . This is because, technically, the incorporated self-employed are paid employees of their corporation.

Unpaid family workers are people who worked without pay for a minimum of 15 hours during the survey reference week in a business or farm owned by a family member. The unpaid family worker must be related by marriage, birth, or adoption to the business or farm owner and reside in the same household.

Multiple jobholders are people who had two or more jobs during the survey reference week , at least one of which was a wage and salary job (defined above).

To be classified as a multiple jobholder in the Current Population Survey, the employed person must meet one of the following criteria:

Self-employed people with multiple businesses and people with multiple jobs as unpaid family workers are not classified as multiple jobholders.

Demographic concepts and definitions

This section contains definitions for the most common demographic and social characteristics presented in BLS publications of Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

To find CPS demographic data available from BLS, see the CPS demographics page or the CPS Topics A to Z Index .

In the Current Population Survey (CPS), age refers to age at last birthday, not age at nearest birthday.

Unless otherwise specified, CPS estimates published by BLS include people age 16 and older. There is no upper age limit.

Since 1992, educational attainment in the Current Population Survey refers to the highest diploma or degree obtained.

Educational attainment data published by BLS typically pertain to people age 25 and older because most people have completed their schooling by age 25.

BLS publications typically provide estimates for some or all of the following educational attainment categories.

In many BLS publications, categories 3 and 4 are combined and shown as "Some college or associate degree." Categories 5 and 6 are often combined and shown as "Bachelor's degree and higher."

Prior to 1992, educational attainment referred to the number of years of school completed. The pre-1992 educational attainment categories are not directly comparable with the current concepts. For more information, see Measuring Education in the Current Population Survey .

In Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics published by BLS, the term Hispanic or Latino ethnicity refers to people who identify themselves as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish in the survey process.

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity is a separate demographic concept from race in the CPS statistics. People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.

Hispanic and race group data will not sum to total in most BLS publications

In most BLS publications of CPS data, people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity are included in the race groups (White, Black or African American, Asian) in addition to being shown separately.

Because of this overlap, data for the race and Hispanic ethnicity groups will not sum to the total (or 100 percent).

People who identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino also are asked to identify one of the following detailed Hispanic ethnicity groups. BLS publishes a limited number of CPS estimates for the detailed Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups.

The CPS implemented changes to the survey questions pertaining to Hispanic or Latino ethnicity in January 2003. These changes affected data comparability over time. For more information, see Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003 .

In accordance with Office of Management and Budget standards , the Current Population Survey (CPS) uses the following categories to describe a person's race. Hispanic or Latino ethnicity is a separate demographic concept from race in the CPS statistics. People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.

In the survey process, the interviewer provides the five options shown above and the survey respondent indicates the race or races they consider themselves to be. Since 2003, people who identify more than one race are tabulated separately in the category, Two or More Races.

Most BLS publications do not show separate estimates for the American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races groups because the number of survey respondents is too small to develop estimates of sufficient quality. People in these groups are included in all totals.

Race group data will not sum to total in most BLS publications

Most Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publications of CPS data show only selected race groups: White, Black or African American, and Asian.

These three groups will not sum to the total (or 100 percent) because the total includes smaller race groups not shown separately: American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races.

People who identify themselves as Asian also are asked to identify a detailed Asian subgroup.

BLS publishes a very limited number of estimates for the following detailed Asian groups.

The CPS implemented changes to the race classifications in January 2003. These changes affected data comparability over time. For more information, see Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003 .

The Current Population Survey is designed to identify biological sex. Further information is available on the Census Bureau website .

The Current Population Survey uses the following marital status categories.

In many BLS publications, categories 2–6 are combined and shown as "Other marital status." In other instances, categories 2–5 will be published as a combined group.

In other tabulations, Married, spouse absent and Separated are sometimes combined under the "Separated" label.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) identifies a person with a disability as someone who has at least one of the following conditions:

The CPS does not use Social Security disability status to identify persons with and without disabilities.

For further information, see Frequently asked questions about disability data .

The Current Population Survey (CPS) defines veterans as people who have previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and who were civilians at the time of the survey. People on active duty at the time of the survey are outside the scope of the CPS .

Members of the Reserve and National Guard are counted as veterans only if they have ever been called to active duty by Presidential order. People who served in the Reserves and National Guard and were never called to active duty are not counted as veterans in the CPS statistics.

Nonveterans are people who never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The CPS classifies veterans into one of following service periods based on their dates of service. They could have served anywhere in the world during these periods.

Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified only in the most recent one.

Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and another period are classified only in the wartime period.

The Current Population Survey defines the foreign born as people residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. Specifically, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam, and neither parent was a U.S. citizen.

The foreign-born population includes legally-admitted immigrants, refugees, temporary residents such as students and temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants. The survey does not specifically identify people in these categories, however.

The survey asks the foreign born if they have U.S. citizenship, but it does not ask non-citizens about their legal status to live and work in the United States.

The native born are people born in the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam or, if born abroad, had at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen.

Earnings concepts and definitions

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes usual weekly earnings data collected in the " basic " monthly Current Population Survey (CPS).

The BLS usual weekly earnings data are distinct from the annual earnings and income data collected in the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) supplement to the CPS and published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

This section describes concepts and definitions pertaining specifically to the CPS earnings data published by BLS.

To find CPS earnings data available from BLS, see the CPS earnings page .

The Current Population Survey (CPS) earnings data published by BLS reflect the earnings of wage and salary workers only.

Wage and salary workers for earnings purposes are workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates.

Wage and salary workers for earnings purposes exclude both the incorporated and the unincorporated self-employed.

The definition of wage and salary workers for earnings purposes is more narrow in scope than the general wage and salary workers definition used with labor force, employment, and unemployment data from the CPS, as the latter includes the incorporated self-employed.

The Current Population Survey does not specifically identify salaried workers or workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Usual weekly earnings data from the Current Population Survey reflect earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received. For multiple jobholders , the data reflect earnings at their main job.

The usual weekly earnings data reflect only wage and salary earnings from work, not gross income from all sources. These data do not include the cash value of benefits such as employer-provided health insurance.

The term "usual" reflects each survey respondent's own understanding of the term. If the respondent asks for a definition of "usual," interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months.

Prior to 1994, survey respondents were asked how much they usually earned per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, or other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent.

Earnings data are collected about employed people only. The survey does not ask how much unemployed people earned on their last job.

The median earnings level represents the midpoint in an earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median and the other half having earnings below the median.

Deciles Deciles of earnings divide workers into 10 equally-sized groups, from the lowest earning to the highest earning.

There are 9 decile earnings values that form "partitions" for the 10 earnings groups; these are the first through the ninth deciles.

When looking at earnings distributions by decile, this means that 10 percent of workers will earn less than the first decile amount; 20 percent will earn less than the second decile amount, and so forth. The ninth decile value divides the lowest-earning 90 percent of workers from the highest earning 10 percent of workers.

The fifth decile is the same as the median , or midpoint of the earnings distribution.

Quartiles Quartiles of earnings divide workers into 4 equally-sized groups, from the lowest earning to the highest earning.

There are 3 quartile earnings values that form "partitions" for the 4 earnings groups; these are the first through the third quartiles.

When looking at earnings distributions by quartile, this means that one-fourth (25 percent) of workers will earn less than the first quartile amount, and three-fourths (75 percent) of workers will earn less than the third quartile.

The second quartile is the same as the median , or midpoint of the earnings distribution.

Earnings shown in constant dollars have been adjusted for inflation.

An earnings time series in constant dollars allows you to see how earnings have changed over time, minus the effect of inflation. Constant-dollar earnings are also sometimes referred to as "real" earnings, or inflation-adjusted earnings.

Adjusting earnings to constant dollars requires a measure of price change over time. The adjustment bases the earnings to the purchasing power of a particular year or years.

Constant-dollar earnings time series sometimes may be based to the most recent year so that historical earnings data can be seen in contemporary dollars. In other cases, the series may be based to the purchasing power of an earlier time, such as 1982–84.

Earnings shown in current dollars have not been adjusted for inflation and reflect the purchasing power of the time period reported.

This section contains general concepts and definitions pertaining to the Current Population Survey (CPS) and CPS data.

The Current Population Survey "reference" week is the specific week of the month used to determine the employment status of survey respondents, and the last week of the 4-week job search period used to determine unemployment status .

The reference week usually is the 7-day calendar week (Sunday–Saturday) that includes the 12th of the month, with occasional exceptions described below.

Survey interviews and data collection begin in the week immediately following the reference week. This is referred to as the "survey" week, or the "interview" week, and is usually the week that includes the 19th of the month.

Exceptions to the week of the 12th: The November and December reference weeks are sometimes moved one week earlier so that survey interviewers are not contacting households during major holiday periods.

For December, if the calendar week including the 5th is contained entirely within the month of December, the December reference week will be one week earlier than normal.

For November, the reference week will be moved one week earlier if Thanksgiving falls during the week that contains the 19th, or if the Census Bureau determines that there is not enough data processing time before the survey interview week for December.

Publication dates for the Employment Situation news release

New data from the Current Population Survey are first published in the monthly Employment Situation news release. (See the release schedule .)

Generally, the Employment Situation publication date is the third Friday after the week that includes the 12th. This usually results in the release being scheduled for the first Friday of the month following the reference month. However, when the 12th of the month falls on a Sunday and there are 30 days or less in the month, the release date will be the second Friday of the month. In addition, if the third Friday after the December reference period falls on January 1–3, the release date will be the second Friday of the month.

If the normal release day Friday happens to be a federal holiday, such as July 4th, the release date will be the Thursday immediately preceding the holiday. The Employment Situation release dates are adjusted only for designated federal holidays .

The Employment Situation release dates are approved by the Office of Management and Budget and published in advance.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The CPS scope does not include Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or other U.S. territories.

All national and U.S. total data from the CPS reflect the 50 states and D.C. only.

BLS publishes selected CPS data below the national level. All sub-national estimates reflect the survey respondent's place of residence.

Basic monthly survey The "basic" Current Population Survey (CPS) is administered every month to about 60,000 eligible households. The basic survey provides up-to-date information on the labor force status of people age 16 and older, with many demographic characteristics such as age, educational attainment, race, and Hispanic ethnicity.

Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) The Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey is a set of supplemental questions added to the basic CPS each year. The ASEC is an important source of information on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage, among other things.

The ASEC sometimes is referred to as the "March" supplement because traditionally it has been added to the basic survey in the month of March.

BLS publishes data from the ASEC in the annual news release, Work Experience of the Population , and the annual report, A Profile of the Working Poor .

Most ASEC data, including income, poverty, and health insurance coverage data, are published by the U.S. Census Bureau .

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical procedure that removes the effects of normal seasonal variations—resulting from events such as holidays, school openings and closings, and weather—from data series. Seasonally adjusted data make it easier to observe cyclical and other economic trends, such as those associated with general economic expansions and contractions. For further information, see Seasonal adjustment of Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates .

Not seasonally adjusted data are estimates as measured directly by the CPS. These data have not been subject to seasonal adjustment procedures. All annual average measures from the CPS are calculated from not seasonally adjusted data.

BLS publishes a wide range of seasonally adjusted labor market measures from the CPS. However, not all measures are available on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Last Modified Date: January 11, 2023

Useful Definitions

Below are definitions for indicators that are frequently followed by EPI. For interactive graphs that display the most recent data, go to EPI’s companion website, Economy Track .

Unemployment Rate

While no single number captures all the nuances in the health of the labor market, the unemployment rate is considered one of the most important economic indicators.

The unemployment rate measures the share of workers in the labor force who do not currently have a job but are actively looking for work. People who have not looked for work in the past four weeks are not included in this measure. It is important to keep in mind that the rate measures the percent of unemployed job seekers in the labor force—the sum of employed and unemployed persons—and not the entire population.

There are several reasons the unemployment rate rises or falls. Although a clear reason is a change in the number of job seekers, the unemployment rate may also be affected by a change in the size of the labor force. When workers become discouraged and stop looking for employment, they leave the labor force. It is common in economic downturns for the labor force to decrease (or increase more slowly than usual) in size as many give up on finding work and are therefore no longer counted as officially unemployed. For that reason, economists often point out that the unemployment rate is misleading and understates the labor market’s weakness. Conversely, during an economic recovery, high unemployment rates can persist despite an increase in jobs as more workers begin looking for work and re-enter the labor market.

Underemployment Rate

Underemployment includes three groups of people: unemployed workers who are actively looking for work; involuntarily part-time workers who want full-time work but have had to settle for part-time hours; and so-called marginally-attached workers who want and are available to work, but have given up actively looking. Together, these three groups provide a more comprehensive measure of slack in the labor market. This measure does not include people who have had to settle for employment below their skill or experience level, such as the mechanical engineer who is driving a cab. There is currently no data that track this form of underemployment.

Compared to other labor force statistics, the underemployment rate is relatively new; the census only began to track underemployment as it is currently measured in 1994. The lack of historical data can make it difficult to put current numbers in context with past labor market performance. Regardless, underemployment’s broader definition of labor market underutilization makes it an important economic indicator.

Employment-to-Population Ratio

The Employment-to-Population Ratio is a useful, broad-brush measure. It simply shows the number of people currently employed as a share of the total working-age population, which is the number of civilian, non-institutionalized persons, age 16 and over. This measure does not typically change dramatically from month to month, but even minor changes help identify which segments of the population are experiencing the most job loss or gain.This ratio also compliments the unemployment rate in assessing the health of the labor market. The unemployment rate has shortcomings that the employment-to-population ratio does not. As mentioned above, the unemployment rate is affected by the size of the labor force. As the labor market falters, the unemployment rate may actually fall if workers give up looking for work, and as the labor market is recovering, unemployment can rise because more people are entering the labor force as they start to look for work again. The employment-to-population ratio, because it is unaffected by voluntary changes in labor force participation, is a useful indicator of current labor market conditions. Lows in the employment-to- population ratio correspond with economic downturns. The employment-to-population ratio holds clear and discernible implications for the labor market, both among and between segments of the population.

Labor Force Participation Rate

The Labor Force Participation Rate shows the number of people in the labor force—defined as the sum of employed and unemployed persons—as a share of the total working-age population, which is the number of civilian, non-institutionalized people, age 16 and over. It is similar to the employment-to-population ratio but different in one important aspect: it includes the numbers of people with a job as well as the number actively looking for work.

Month-to-month changes in the employed and unemployed in the labor force are relatively small compared to the size of the entire working-age population. Although minor changes in the labor force participation rate can be informative, it is often used to study long-term trends among different segments of the population. In 1973, for example, women had a 46% participation rate while men were near 80%. In the three and a half decades since, women have seen steadily increasing labor force participation, nearing 60% in 2007. Male labor force participation, on the other hand, has been decreasing, nearing 70% in 2007.

Comparing different segments of the population helps show where the labor market succeeds or fails in incorporating the working-age population.

Payroll Employment

Payroll employment is taken from the Current Establishment Survey, which, unlike the household-based Current Population Survey used to track the indicators described above, is a survey of employers. For this reason, the data is examined largely by industry, rather than by demographic subgroups of the population, showing the number of jobs in different sectors of the economy. Total nonfarm employment is the total number of jobs, part time or full time, in non-farm establishments. Total private employment excludes jobs in federal, state, and local government. In order to compare between different time periods, the change in payroll employment is indexed to a benchmark. The number of jobs in the economy has grown substantially over time as the population has expanded, and losing or gaining 100,000 jobs in 1970 has a different impact than losing or gaining 100,000 jobs in 2000. This index shows the percentage change in jobs from any point in time and provides a way to compare payroll changes at different points in time.

Job Seekers per Job Opening

The number of job seekers per job opening is another indicator of the strength of the labor market. It is the ratio of unemployed persons—those workers who do not have a job but are actively looking for work—to the number of job openings. Data on unemployment are from the Current Population Survey. Job openings are measured in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

The JOLTS series is very new, with the data only available since the year 2000. The lack of historical data makes it difficult to put recent numbers into a larger context. However, it remains an important indicator that measures the number of unemployed people in relation to the availability of new jobs, and offers a sense of how easy or hard it is to find employment at any given time.

Gross Domestic Product

Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the mark et value of all goods and services produced in the United States. Many would consider GDP to be the most important measure of a nation’s economic performance. Generally speaking, national economic performance is considered strong if GDP is rising but weak if GDP is falling. When defining a recession, the National Bureau of Economic Research closely looks at the length and magnitude of GDP decline.

As an economic indicator, GDP is unrivaled in its comprehensiveness, but it nevertheless has significant shortcomings. It places paramount importance on the quantity, but not the quality, of growth. It also fails to capture the distribution of economic growth or the sustainability of growth. For example, the housing bubble was captured as a pure economic gain. Residential investment including the building of new homes and home renovations surged to historic highs, but the overinvestment in homes eventually caused a deep recession that has left in its wake thousands of empty, unused houses. This GDP growth was unsustainable. Moreover, the 2001-07 business cycle was the first expansion on record where the typical family did not see a rise in income: median household income over this period was essentially flat even as GDP rose. This combination of overall growth and flat median incomes necessarily implies rising inequality between the country’s top earners and everyone else, but that disparity was not reflected in GDP, which grew steadily during this time.

GDP has four major components. Personal consumption expenditure measures the market value of goods and services consumed by individuals. Gross domestic private investment includes the value of new residential investments, non-residential investment in structures and equipment, and the change in the value of business inventories. Net Exports are defined as the value of exports less the value of imports. Government consumption expenditures and gross investment includes government spending on goods and services; this spending, however does not include transfer payments (such as Social Security), which are captured in other components of GDP, such as consumer spending.

In order to compare between different time periods, the change in GDP, much like payroll employment explained above, is indexed to a certain benchmark. This index provides the percentage change in GDP from any point in time and gives a way to compare GDP changes at different points in time.

Capacity Utilization

Capacity utilization measures the share of industrial capacity in the United States currently in use. It is one of the chief measures of the output gap, or the difference between how much the country is producing and how much it could be producing. For a simple example, if there were 100 factories in the United States, and only 50 were open and operating, capacity utilization would be at 50%. The Federal Reserve, when calculating the monthly measurements, provides more detail than whether a factory is open or closed.

The optimal capacity utilization rate is not 100%; that would imply every factory in the nation running flat-out, day and night. A more reasonable “target” capacity utilization rate is either the long-run average of the last 40 years (80.5%) or the average prevailing in non-recessionary years during that time (81.0%).

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Jobs report: What it means for you

The report on May job gains of 138,000 was disappointing , falling short of the 180,000 expected.

But the unemployment rate fell to a 16-year low of 4.3%.

Here's a breakdown of the numbers

The 4.3% unemployment rate

Why it fell:

The unemployment rate is the number of jobless workers as a percentage of the labor force. The household survey tallied a 233,000 drop in the number of employed workers for last month, but that was more than offset by a decline of 429,000 in the labor force -- which includes people working and looking for jobs.

What it means for employers:

The low unemployment figures could mean the pool of available job candidates has shrunk , making it tougher for companies to find qualified workers. That should force them to raise wages or offer other types of sweeteners.

What it means for you:

Employees are in demand, particularly those who are highly skilled. Even low-skill workers are sought after. That means there are lots of jobs out there and employees are in the driver’s seat, whether seeking a new position or higher pay.

The weak job growth

Some economists are shrugging off the disappointing showing, pointing to a pattern of weak job growth in May that doesn't reflect the true state of hiring. Instead, they say it's a result of inaccurate seasonal adjustments that the Labor Department tends to make this time of year. Sure, the smaller pool of workers is slowing hiring, but most economists still expect average monthly gains this year of about 170,000.

The modest wage gains

Average annual pay increases held steady at a relatively subdued 2.5%, according to the government report. But other surveys show faster gains of at least 3% to 4%. Many economists believe the Labor Department’s aggregate figure each month is skewed lower by retirements of high-paid Baby Boomers and entry into the labor force of Millennials and Generation Z, who are paid less on average.

Partly because estimates in May are volatile and may be off base, economists generally expect the Federal Reserve to write off the disappointing number and stick to it plan to raise interest rates at a mid-June meeting.

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Jobs Report: March 2020
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The complete US jobs report in two simple charts
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The Jobs Report

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Useful Definitions
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