Who's Not Working

Summary 98-4

May 1998

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

T

he current economic expansion is

entering its eighth year, and

participation in the labor force has

reached record levels. Nevertheless, in

1996, some 59 million people 16 years

of age and over neither worked nor

looked for work for the entire year.

Most were younger people still in

school. Some were retirees. But about a

quarter of these persons were 25 to 54

years old, ages when most of their

contemporaries were active in the labor

market. (See chart.) This report focuses

on the reasons these 25- to 54-year-olds

were out of the labor market.

Reasons for not working

In 1996, 15.8 million people between

the ages of 25 and 54 neither worked nor

looked for work at any time during the

year. Women comprised about 3 out of 4

of these persons, and the reasons they

were not in the labor market differed

markedly from those reported by men.

The large majority, 70 percent, were

taking care of home or family, 20 percent

were either ill or disabled, and a little

over 5 percent were in school. In

contrast, among the 4 million men of

these ages who neither worked nor

looked for work, 8 percent were taking

care of family or home and 63 percent

were either ill or disabled. (See table.)

Income and education

Women who neither worked nor

looked for work tended to be somewhat

better off economically, and somewhat

better educated than their male counterparts. For example, about 38 percent of

the women had family or personal

income of less than $20,000 in 1996,

compared with 60 percent of the men.

At the upper end of the distribution, 21

percent of the women, but only 7 percent

of the men, had incomes of $60,000 or

more.

With regard to education, about 25

percent of women nonworkers were high

school dropouts compared with 33

percent of men. At the upper educational level, the proportions of nonworkers who were college graduates were

similar, 16 percent of the women versus

12 percent of the men. For the most

part, though, the proportions of nonworkers with college degrees were well

below those of persons of similar ages

who worked or looked for work in

1996—about 29 percent of both the men

and the women.

In summary, these nonworkers are a

somewhat disparate group. The reasons

they are not in the labor force differ.

Many have relatively low incomes, yet a

significant fraction are well off economically. Most are well educated, but some

are not, making it more difficult for them

to find employment. Moreover, these

data do not measure such intangibles as

the willingness of individuals to forego

current income in order, for instance, to

stay home with their children, or go to

school to improve future earnings

capacity. Thus, it remains difficult to

predict how changes in the conditions of

employment—higher pay, better

benefits, flexible hours—might affect

the labor market activity of people in

this group.

Additional information

Data for this report were collected in

the March 1997 supplement to the

Current Population Survey (CPS), a

monthly survey of about 50,000

households that the Bureau of the

Census conducts for the Bureau of Labor

Statistics. These data differ from the

monthly figures in that they reflect labor

force activity during an entire calendar

year rather than a single month. Persons

who neither worked nor looked for work

18 to 24 years

(14.9 percent)

55 years and over

(58.3 percent)

25 to 54 years

(26.8 percent)

Nonworkers who did not look for work by age, 1996
during the year were asked the main

reason they did not work. The income

measure used in this report is a hybrid; it

consists of the family income for persons

who were family members, and the

personal income of those who were not

family members.

For additional information on

nonworkers and a technical description

of the CPS, contact Abraham T. Mosisa,

Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor

Statistics, Washington, DC 20212. Tel.

(202) 606-6378. E-mail address

Mosisa_A@bls.gov

Information in this report will be

made available to sensory impaired

individuals upon request. Voice phone:

(202) 606-7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-

5897: TDD message referral phone: 1-

800-326-2577. This material is in the

public domain and, with appropriate

credit, may be reproduced without

permission.

Persons 25 to 54 years old who did not work or look for work in 1996 by reason, income, and sex, March 1997

(Numbers in thousands)

Total nonworkers Percent distribution by income

Characteristic $20,000 $40,000 $60,000

Number Percent

Under

to to or

$20,000

$39,999 $59,999 more

Men, 25 to 54 years ..................... 4,038 100.0 60.2 22.1 10.9 6.7

Ill or disabled ................................... 2,527 62.6 61.9 21.2 11.6 5.4

Retired ............................................ 188 4.7 33.8 28.5 19.4 18.2

Home responsibilities ...................... 341 8.4 54.8 28.8 8.8 7.6

Going to school ............................... 398 9.9 60.0 21.7 6.4 11.9

Could not find work ......................... 217 5.4 61.6 15.9 17.1 5.4

Other ............................................... 367 9.1 67.1 22.7 5.5 4.7

Women, 25 to 54 years ................ 11,717 100.0 38.2 24.5 16.0 21.3

Ill or disabled ................................... 2,291 19.6 62.1 20.1 8.1 9.7

Retired ............................................ 371 3.2 29.0 19.8 20.0 31.2

Home responsibilities ...................... 8,064 68.8 30.3 26.3 18.6 24.8

Going to school ............................... 607 5.2 48.5 23.4 9.9 18.3

Could not find work ......................... 114 .7 81.3 7.9 5.1 5.8

Other ............................................... 269 1.7 44.2 22.1 16.5 17.2

NOTE: Income refers to family income for those who were living

with their families or to personal income for those not in families. Income refers to earnings, disability or unemployment benefits, interest

income, and other sources. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.