For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, December 11, 2013 USDL-13-2350 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION — 2012 

A total of 156.2 million persons worked at some point during 2012, 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 2012 was 63.8 percent, up from 63.3 percent in 2011. The number of persons who 

experienced some unemployment during 2012 decreased by 1.3 million to 22.4 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 2012 data: 

 The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2012 was 65.5 percent, little 

different from the prior year. (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—fell by 1.0 percentage point over the year to 13.9 percent in 2012. 

(See table 3.) 

 About 5.5 million individuals looked for a job but did not work at all in 2012, down from 6.2 

million in 2011. (See table 3.) 

Persons with Employment 

The proportion of men who worked during 2012 was 69.5 percent, up from 68.8 percent in 2011. The 

proportion of women who worked at some point during 2012 was 58.4 percent, little changed from 

2011. (See table 1.) 

The proportions of whites (64.5 percent), blacks (59.1 percent), Asians (64.5 percent), and Hispanics 

(64.3 percent) who worked at some time during 2012 increased from 2011. (See table 2.) 

Among those with work experience during 2012, 78.4 percent usually worked full time, little different 

from 2011. Men continued to be more likely to work full time during the year (84.5 percent) than 
women (71.5 percent). The proportions of employed men and women working full time showed little 

change over the year. (See table 1.) 

Of the total who worked during 2012, 76.7 percent were employed year round (working 50 to 52 weeks, 

either full or part time), little changed from 2011. The percentage of women working year round 

decreased by 0.8 percentage point to 74.7 percent in 2012, while the percentage of men employed year 

round was little changed at 78.5 percent. 

Persons with Unemployment 

Overall, 161.7 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2012. Of those, 22.4 million 

experienced some unemployment during the year, 1.3 million fewer than in 2011. Men accounted for a 

disproportionately large share of the over-the-year decline in those who experienced some 

unemployment. (See table 3.) 

At 13.9 percent in 2012, 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 1.0 percentage point 

lower than in 2011. The work-experience unemployment rates for whites (12.8 percent) and blacks 

(20.6 percent) declined from 2011 to 2012, while the rates for Asians (10.6 percent) and Hispanics 

(17.3 percent) changed little. (See tables 3 and 4.) 

Overall, men continued to have higher work-experience unemployment rates in 2012 than women, 

14.5 percent versus 13.1 percent. Among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, the rates for men were higher 

than the rates for women. Among Asians, the rates for men and women were little different from each 

other. 

Among those who experienced unemployment in 2012, the median number of weeks spent looking for 

work fell to 18.4, following 3 years of little movement. The number of persons who looked for a job 

but did not work at all in 2012 declined by 701,000 over the year to 5.5 million. Of the 16.9 million 

individuals who worked during 2012 and also experienced unemployment, 22.2 percent had two or 

more spells of joblessness, up from 20.1 percent in 2011. (See table 3.) 
Technical Note 

The data presented in this release were collected in the 

Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the 

Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly 

sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households, 

conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS). Data from the CPS are used to obtain 

the monthly estimates of the nation's employment and 

unemployment levels. The ASEC, conducted in the months 

of February through April, includes questions about work 

activity during the prior calendar year. For instance, data 

collected in 2013 refer to the 2012 calendar year. Because 

the reference period is a full year, the number of persons with 

some employment or unemployment greatly exceeds the 

average levels for any given month, which are based on a 1-

week reference period, and the corresponding annual average 

of the monthly estimates. As shown below, for example, the 

number experiencing any unemployment was about twice the 

number unemployed in an average month during the year. 

 Employed Unemployed 

2012 estimates (in thousands) 

 Annual average of 

 monthly estimates 142,469 12,506 

 Annual supplement data 156,194 22,423 

In addition, estimates from the supplement differ from 

those obtained in the basic CPS because the questions used 

to classify workers as either employed or unemployed are 

different. More important, perhaps, is that the supplement 

contains fewer questions for categorizing respondents. In 

regard to unemployment in particular, the supplement has no 

questions on the type of job search activity or on the 

respondent's availability to work. Also, individuals can be 

counted as both employed and unemployed in the work 

experience supplement data, whereas, for a specific monthly 

reference week, each person is only counted in one category 

and employment activity takes precedence over job search 

activity. 

The data presented in this release are not strictly 

comparable with data for earlier years due to the introduction 

of updated population controls used in the CPS. The 

population controls are updated each year in January to 

reflect the latest information about population change. 

Additional information is available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

Reliability of the estimates 

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling 

and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire 

population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample 

estimates may differ from the true population values they 

represent. The component of this difference that occurs 

because samples differ by chance is known as sampling 

error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of 

the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of 

confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by 

no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population 

value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally 

conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. 

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. 

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the 

failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to 

obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability 

or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct 

information, and errors made in the collection or processing 

of the data. 

A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS 

and information on estimating standard errors is available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

Concepts and definitions 

The principle concepts and definitions used in 

connection with the data in this release are described briefly 

below. 

Persons who worked. In the 2013 supplement, persons 

are considered to have worked if they responded "yes" to 

either the question "Did you work at a job or business at any 

time during 2012?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, 

or seasonal work even for a few days during 2012?" 

Unemployed persons. Persons who worked during the 

year but not in every week are counted as unemployed if they 

also reported looking for work or being on layoff from a job 

during the year. Those who reported no work activity during 

the year are considered unemployed if they responded "yes" 

to the question "Even though you did not work in 2012, did 

you spend any time trying to find a job or on layoff?" 

Work-experience unemployment rate. 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. 

Labor force participants. Persons who either worked or 

were unemployed during the year. 

Usual full- and part-time employment. These data refer 

to the number of hours a worker typically works during most 

weeks of the year. Workers are classified as full time if they 

usually worked 35 hours or more in a week; part-time 

employment refers to workers whose typical workweek was 

between 1 and 34 hours. 

Year-round and part-year employment. Workers are 

classified as year round if they worked 50 to 52 weeks. Partyear employment refers to workers who worked fewer than 

50 weeks. 

Other information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
Table 1. Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 2011-12

Extent of employment

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

Numbers (in thousands)

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................................................... 242,602 244,993 116,984 118,202 125,619 126,791

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 159,693 161,707 83,715 84,999 75,978 76,708

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 65.8 66.0 71.6 71.9 60.5 60.5

Total who worked during the year 1 .................................................................. 153,479 156,194 80,503 82,143 72,976 74,051

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 63.3 63.8 68.8 69.5 58.1 58.4

Full time 2 ..................................................................................................... 120,585 122,407 68,289 69,437 52,295 52,970

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 100,915 102,296 57,288 58,304 43,627 43,992

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 1,691 1,848 971 1,038 720 810

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,862 5,391 2,639 2,944 2,223 2,447

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,474 4,448 2,561 2,553 1,913 1,895

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 5,291 4,711 2,941 2,585 2,350 2,126

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 3,351 3,713 1,889 2,013 1,463 1,700

Part time 3 ..................................................................................................... 32,895 33,787 12,214 12,706 20,681 21,081

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 17,247 17,487 5,786 6,197 11,460 11,291

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 791 870 295 304 496 566

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,633 2,831 987 1,062 1,647 1,768

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,855 2,966 1,121 1,103 1,735 1,863

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,729 4,858 2,009 1,927 2,719 2,930

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 4,639 4,776 2,016 2,112 2,623 2,663

Percent distribution

Total who worked during the year 1 ...................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time 2 ......................................................................................................... 78.6 78.4 84.8 84.5 71.7 71.5

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 65.8 65.5 71.2 71.0 59.8 59.4

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.1

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.0 3.3

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 2.9 2.8 3.2 3.1 2.6 2.6

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.4 3.0 3.7 3.1 3.2 2.9

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 2.2 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.0 2.3

Part time 3 ......................................................................................................... 21.4 21.6 15.2 15.5 28.3 28.5

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 11.2 11.2 7.2 7.5 15.7 15.2

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.8

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.7 1.8 1.2 1.3 2.3 2.4

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.9 1.9 1.4 1.3 2.4 2.5

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.1 3.1 2.5 2.3 3.7 4.0

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 3.0 3.1 2.5 2.6 3.6 3.6

1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week.

NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Updated population

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2011-12

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

WHITE 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 192,898 194,041 94,146 94,752 98,752 99,289

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 127,809 128,903 68,304 69,027 59,505 59,876

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 66.3 66.4 72.6 72.8 60.3 60.3

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 123,717 125,206 66,180 67,080 57,537 58,125

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 64.1 64.5 70.3 70.8 58.3 58.5

Percent who worked during the year 1 ......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 78.4 78.1 85.1 84.6 70.6 70.6

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 65.8 65.5 71.7 71.4 59.0 58.7

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.2 7.5 7.7 8.0 6.7 6.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.4 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.0 5.0

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 21.6 21.9 14.9 15.4 29.4 29.4

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.4 11.4 7.0 7.5 16.5 15.9

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.2 4.4 3.0 3.0 5.5 5.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.0 6.1 4.8 4.9 7.4 7.6

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 29,790 30,253 13,447 13,684 16,343 16,568

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 18,822 19,095 8,685 8,851 10,137 10,244

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.2 63.1 64.6 64.7 62.0 61.8

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 17,332 17,870 7,932 8,253 9,399 9,617

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 58.2 59.1 59.0 60.3 57.5 58.0

Percent who worked during the year 1 ......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 79.4 79.1 82.2 82.9 77.1 75.9

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 65.0 64.0 66.1 66.3 64.0 62.1

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.2 8.2 8.1 8.5 6.5 7.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 7.2 6.9 8.1 8.1 6.5 5.9

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 20.6 20.9 17.8 17.1 22.9 24.1

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.0 10.6 8.3 8.5 11.3 12.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.0 3.9 3.2 2.9 4.6 4.7

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.7 6.5 6.3 5.8 7.0 7.1

ASIAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 12,813 13,228 5,979 6,174 6,834 7,055

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 8,364 8,830 4,347 4,627 4,017 4,203

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 65.3 66.7 72.7 75.0 58.8 59.6

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 8,048 8,528 4,194 4,472 3,854 4,056

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 62.8 64.5 70.1 72.4 56.4 57.5

Percent who worked during the year 1 ......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 81.4 81.5 87.0 87.1 75.3 75.3

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 70.4 71.1 76.6 76.7 63.6 65.0

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.7 6.7 5.8

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.9 4.6 4.7 4.7 5.0 4.4

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 18.6 18.5 13.0 12.9 24.7 24.7

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.0 10.3 7.2 7.1 15.1 13.9

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.1 3.5 2.0 2.4 4.3 4.8

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.5 4.6 3.8 3.3 5.3 6.1

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2011-12 —

Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 36,461 37,240 18,276 18,655 18,185 18,585

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 24,216 24,914 13,683 14,185 10,533 10,729

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 66.4 66.9 74.9 76.0 57.9 57.7

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 23,124 23,954 13,127 13,673 9,997 10,281

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.4 64.3 71.8 73.3 55.0 55.3

Percent who worked during the year 1 ......................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 79.2 78.6 84.6 84.3 72.1 71.0

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 64.3 63.7 68.6 68.3 58.8 57.6

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.5 8.8 9.6 10.1 7.1 7.2

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.3 6.1 6.4 6.0 6.2 6.2

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 20.8 21.4 15.4 15.7 27.9 29.0

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.3 11.7 7.8 8.4 15.9 16.1

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.8 3.9 3.0 2.9 4.8 5.2

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.7 5.8 4.7 4.4 7.2 7.7

1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals shown in table 1 because

data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is

identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 2011-12

Extent of unemployment

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

Numbers (in thousands)

Total who worked or looked for work .................................................................... 159,693 161,707 83,715 84,999 75,978 76,708

Percent with unemployment ............................................................................. 14.9 13.9 15.8 14.5 13.8 13.1

Total with unemployment .................................................................................. 23,739 22,423 13,262 12,352 10,477 10,071

Did not work but looked for work .................................................................. 6,214 5,513 3,212 2,856 3,002 2,657

1 to 14 weeks ........................................................................................... 1,395 1,455 656 614 739 842

15 weeks or more ..................................................................................... 4,819 4,057 2,556 2,242 2,263 1,815

Worked during the year ................................................................................ 17,525 16,910 10,050 9,496 7,476 7,414

Year-round workers 1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment ...................... 417 464 271 309 147 155

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ................................................... 17,108 16,447 9,779 9,187 7,329 7,259

1 to 4 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,211 2,242 1,170 1,178 1,041 1,064

5 to 10 weeks ....................................................................................... 2,273 2,349 1,238 1,362 1,035 987

11 to 14 weeks ..................................................................................... 2,063 2,174 1,276 1,242 787 933

15 to 26 weeks ..................................................................................... 4,942 4,709 2,936 2,714 2,007 1,995

27 weeks or more ................................................................................. 5,619 4,972 3,159 2,692 2,459 2,280

 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ....................................... 19.8 18.4 19.9 18.1 19.8 18.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ................................................... 3,524 3,761 2,448 2,326 1,076 1,435

 2 spells ................................................................................................. 1,745 1,730 1,121 1,002 624 727

 3 spells or more .................................................................................... 1,779 2,031 1,327 1,324 451 707

Percent distribution

Did not work but looked for work .......................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1 to 14 weeks ................................................................................................... 22.4 26.4 20.4 21.5 24.6 31.7

15 weeks or more ............................................................................................. 77.6 73.6 79.6 78.5 75.4 68.3

Worked during the year ........................................................................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers 1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .............................. 2.4 2.7 2.7 3.3 2.0 2.1

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ........................................................... 97.6 97.3 97.3 96.7 98.0 97.9

1 to 4 weeks ................................................................................................. 12.6 13.3 11.6 12.4 13.9 14.3

5 to 10 weeks ............................................................................................... 13.0 13.9 12.3 14.3 13.8 13.3

11 to 14 weeks ............................................................................................. 11.8 12.9 12.7 13.1 10.5 12.6

15 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 28.2 27.8 29.2 28.6 26.8 26.9

27 weeks or more ......................................................................................... 32.1 29.4 31.4 28.3 32.9 30.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ............................................... 20.1 22.2 24.4 24.5 14.4 19.4

 2 spells ............................................................................................. 10.0 10.2 11.2 10.6 8.4 9.8

 3 spells or more ................................................................................ 10.1 12.0 13.2 13.9 6.0 9.5

1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks. 2 Worked less than 50 weeks.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2011-12

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

WHITE 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 127,809 128,903 68,304 69,027 59,505 59,876

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 13.7 12.8 14.7 13.6 12.5 11.9

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 17,479 16,534 10,026 9,388 7,453 7,146

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 4,092 3,698 2,124 1,947 1,968 1,751

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 13,387 12,836 7,902 7,442 5,485 5,395

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 18.8 17.6 19.0 17.4 18.4 18.0

Percent who worked during the year 1 ..................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 2.6 2.9 3.0 3.5 2.1 2.2

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.4 97.1 97.0 96.5 97.9 97.8

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 13.6 13.9 12.3 12.7 15.5 15.6

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 25.7 27.5 25.8 28.4 25.5 26.3

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 58.1 55.6 58.9 55.4 56.9 55.9

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 20.4 23.2 24.5 25.5 14.6 20.0

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 18,822 19,095 8,685 8,851 10,137 10,244

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 22.2 20.6 24.5 21.9 20.3 19.5

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 4,180 3,936 2,124 1,936 2,056 2,000

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,491 1,225 753 598 737 627

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 2,689 2,712 1,371 1,338 1,319 1,374

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 23.9 21.6 23.6 21.6 24.1 21.6

Percent who worked during the year 1 ..................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 1.7 2.0 1.7 1.9 1.8 2.1

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 98.3 98.0 98.3 98.1 98.2 97.9

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.9 9.4 8.8 9.9 9.1 9.0

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 20.6 24.6 21.2 24.3 19.9 24.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 68.7 64.0 68.2 63.9 69.2 64.0

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 17.7 18.8 22.8 19.3 12.4 18.2

ASIAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 8,364 8,830 4,347 4,627 4,017 4,203

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 12.2 10.6 12.0 10.3 12.4 10.9

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 1,020 933 522 476 498 457

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 316 302 153 156 162 146

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 705 631 369 320 335 311

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 20.5 17.4 20.2 17.5 20.7 17.3

Percent who worked during the year 1 ..................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 0.8 3.0 0.9 4.2 0.6 1.6

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 99.2 97.0 99.1 95.8 99.4 98.4

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.6 16.6 12.1 17.9 8.9 15.3

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 27.1 25.3 28.1 22.6 25.9 28.0

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 61.6 55.2 58.8 55.3 64.6 55.1

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 18.9 19.0 22.0 21.9 15.4 16.0

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2011-12 — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 24,216 24,914 13,683 14,185 10,533 10,729

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 18.3 17.3 19.2 18.2 17.1 16.0

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 4,427 4,304 2,630 2,585 1,798 1,720

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,093 960 556 512 536 448

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 3,335 3,345 2,073 2,073 1,261 1,272

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 20.0 18.1 19.7 16.9 20.6 20.2

Percent who worked during the year 1 ..................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 2.4 3.2 2.9 3.9 1.7 1.9

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.6 96.8 97.1 96.1 98.3 98.1

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.0 14.0 10.3 12.6 12.3 16.2

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 24.8 26.1 25.2 29.2 24.1 20.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 61.7 56.8 61.6 54.2 61.9 61.0

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 22.5 22.9 25.9 24.5 16.8 20.1

1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Worked 50 or 51 weeks. 3 Worked less than 50 weeks.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals shown in table 3 because

data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is

identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.