Measuring Unemployment

U.S. Employment Picture 1999 and 2009

Definitions Employed: Those who worked in the week prior to the household survey, or those temporarily away from their job for vacations, illness, etc. Unemployed: Those that did not work in the previous week but had actively sought employment during the past four weeks.

Civilian Labor Force Civilian Labor Force: = Employed + Unemployed LF 1999 = 133,591, ,838,000 = 139,429,000 LF 2009 = 139,649, ,928,000 = 154,577,000

The Unemployment Rate The formula for the unemployment rate (U) is:

Calculating the Unemployment Rate Calculate the unemployment rate for both 1999 and 2009 U 1999 = ( 5,838,000 / 139,429,000) x 100 = 4.2% U 2009 = ( 14,928,000 / 154,577,000) x 100 = 9.7%

U.S. Unemployment Rate 1948 to 2009

Labor Force Participation Rate Labor Force Participation Rate =

Calculate the LFPR for both 1999 and 2009 LFPR 1999 = ( 139,429,000/208,038,000 ) x 100 LFPR 1999 = 67.0% LFPR 2009 = ( 154,577,000/236,087,000 ) x 100 LFPR 2009 = 65.5%

Male LFPR 1948 to 2009

Female LFPR 1948 to 2009

Other Unemployment Rates

Duration of unemployment

Discouraged Workers Persons not in the labor force who want and are available for a job and who have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but who are not currently looking because they believe there are no jobs available or there are none for which they would qualify.

Marginally Attached Workers Persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.

U-6: An Alternative Measure of Labor Market Conditions

U to 2009