1

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-1923

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 2006

A total of 156.7 million persons worked at some point during 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics

of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The proportion of workers who worked full time, year

round rose to 68.4 percent in 2006 from 67.5 percent in 2005. The number of persons who experienced

some unemployment in 2006 was 14.4 million, about the same as a year earlier.

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 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 2006 data include:

 • The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 years old and over that worked at

some time during the year was 67.8 percent in 2006, essentially unchanged from 2005.

 • The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2006 (68.4 percent) was up from

2005 (67.5 percent).

 • The “work-experience unemployment rate”—defined as the number unemployed at some time during

the year as a proportion of the number who worked or looked for work during the year—was 9.1 percent in 2006, little changed from 9.3 percent in 2005.

Persons with Employment

The proportion of men who worked at some time during 2006 held at 74.4 percent. The percent of

women who worked during 2006, at 61.6 percent, was little changed from a year earlier. (See table 1.)

The proportions of whites (68.5 percent), blacks (63.6 percent), and Asians (67.5 percent) that worked

some time during the year were essentially unchanged in 2006. The proportion of Hispanics who worked at

some point during 2006 (69.1 percent) was up from 2005 (68.0 percent). (See table 2.)

Among those with work experience during 2006, 78.0 percent were employed year round (working

50 to 52 weeks, either full or part time), up by 0.6 percentage point from 2005. The percentage of

women working year round rose to 74.8 percent in 2006, and the percentage of men employed year round

edged up to 80.9 percent. (See table 1.)

N

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

ews United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

Of those employed at some time during 2006, 80.9 percent usually worked full time, up from 80.3

percent in 2005. Men were more likely to work full time during the year (87.8 percent) than were

women (73.0 percent).

Persons with Unemployment

Overall, 14.4 million persons experienced some unemployment in 2006, essentially unchanged from 14.5

million in 2005. (See table 3.) The number of persons that experienced some unemployment during the year

was down by 2.4 million from its recent high of 16.8 million in 2002.

At 9.1 percent in 2006, 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 little changed from 9.3

percent in 2005. The 2006 rate is low by historical standards, but is above the series low of 8.6 percent

reached in 2000. The rate for blacks fell in 2006; however, at 13.0 percent, it was higher than the rates

for Hispanics (10.2 percent), whites (8.5 percent), and Asians (7.3 percent). (See tables 3 and 4.)

Overall, men continued to have higher “work-experience unemployment rates” than women in 2006.

Among whites, the rate for men (9.0 percent) was higher than that for women (7.9 percent). This also was

true for black men and women (14.5 and 11.7 percent, respectively). The rates for Asian men and women

(7.5 and 7.0 percent, respectively) were little different from each other, as were the rates for Hispanic men

and women (10.7 and 9.6 percent, respectively).

Among those who experienced unemployment in 2006, the median number of weeks spent looking for

work was 13.8, down from 14.6 in 2005. About 1.9 million individuals had looked for a job but did not

work at all in 2006, down from 2.4 million in 2005. Of the 12.5 million persons who worked during 2006

and also experienced unemployment, 24.5 percent had two or more spells of joblessness, about the same

share as in 2005.
Technical Note

The data presented in this release were collected in the

Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current

Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly sample survey

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

Statistics. Data from the CPS are used to obtain the monthly

estimates of the nation’s employment and unemployment

levels. The supplement, conducted in the months of February

through April, includes questions about work activity during

the prior calendar year. For instance, data collected in 2007 refer

to the 2006 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 during 2006 was about twice the number

unemployed in an average month during the year.

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 fewer questions by

which to categorize respondents are asked in the supplement.

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 data, whereas, for a specific reference week, each

person is only counted in one category and employment activity

takes precedence over job search activity.

Work experience data for 2006, which were collected in the

2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the CPS,

are not strictly comparable with data for 2005 and earlier

years because of the introduction in January 2007 of

revised population controls used in the CPS. The effect of the

revised population controls on the work experience estimates

is unknown. However, the effect of the new controls on

the monthly CPS estimates was to increase the December 2006

employment level by 153,000 and the unemployment level by

10,000. For additional information, see “Adjustments to

Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2007” in the

February 2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on

the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.

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 exact difference, or sampling error, varies

depending on the particular sample selected, and this 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.

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS

and information on estimating standard errors, see the

“Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” section of

Employment and Earnings.

Concepts and definitions

Persons who worked. In the 2007 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

2006?” or “Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal

work even for a few days during 2006?”

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 2006, did you spend

any time trying to find a job or on layoff?”

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. Part-year

employment refers to workers who worked fewer than 50 weeks.

 Employed Unemployed

2006 estimates (in thousands)

 Annual average of

 monthly estimates

 Annual supplement data

144,427 7,001

156,658 14,424
Table 1. Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 2005-06

Extent of employment

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

Numbers (in thousands)

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................................................... 227,975 231,033 110,161 111,733 117,814 119,300

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 156,744 158,563 83,230 84,100 73,514 74,463

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 68.8 68.6 75.6 75.3 62.4 62.4

Total who worked during the year 1 .................................................................. 154,322 156,658 82,013 83,131 72,309 73,527

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 67.7 67.8 74.4 74.4 61.4 61.6

Full time 2 ..................................................................................................... 123,911 126,677 71,361 72,967 52,550 53,709

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 104,147 107,105 60,851 62,479 43,297 44,626

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 1,980 1,945 1,121 1,110 859 835

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 5,224 5,481 2,835 3,029 2,389 2,452

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,587 4,286 2,323 2,213 2,264 2,073

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,799 4,728 2,610 2,466 2,189 2,262

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 3,172 3,132 1,621 1,670 1,552 1,462

Part time 3 ..................................................................................................... 30,411 29,981 10,653 10,163 19,758 19,818

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 15,361 15,124 5,141 4,744 10,221 10,381

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 814 793 254 268 560 525

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,537 2,641 845 844 1,692 1,797

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,799 2,783 968 929 1,832 1,854

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,321 4,283 1,637 1,605 2,684 2,678

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 4,578 4,356 1,808 1,773 2,770 2,583

Percent distribution

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

Full time 2 ......................................................................................................... 80.3 80.9 87.0 87.8 72.7 73.0

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 67.5 68.4 74.2 75.2 59.9 60.7

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.3 3.3

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.0 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.1 2.8

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.1

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.0

Part time 3 ......................................................................................................... 19.7 19.1 13.0 12.2 27.3 27.0

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 10.0 9.7 6.3 5.7 14.1 14.1

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.7

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.6 1.7 1.0 1.0 2.3 2.4

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.1 2.5 2.5

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 2.8 2.7 2.0 1.9 3.7 3.6

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 3.0 2.8 2.2 2.1 3.8 3.5

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. Data for 2006, which

were collected in the 2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the

Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2005

and earlier years because of the introduction of updated population

controls, which are introduced annually with the release of January data. 

For additional information, see the technical note and "Adjustments to

Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2007" in the February

2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on the Internet at

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2005-06

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

WHITE 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 185,628 187,721 90,642 91,792 94,986 95,929

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 128,319 129,766 69,410 70,160 58,909 59,606

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 69.1 69.1 76.6 76.4 62.0 62.1

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 126,744 128,503 68,595 69,504 58,149 58,999

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 68.3 68.5 75.7 75.7 61.2 61.5

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 79.9 80.4 87.2 87.9 71.3 71.7

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 67.4 68.1 74.7 75.4 58.7 59.4

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.7 7.5

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.9 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.8

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 20.1 19.6 12.8 12.1 28.7 28.3

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.3 10.0 6.2 5.7 15.1 15.0

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.1 4.1 2.5 2.5 6.0 6.1

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.7 5.5 4.1 4.0 7.6 7.3

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 26,866 27,345 12,059 12,291 14,807 15,055

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 17,764 17,879 8,133 8,200 9,631 9,678

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 66.1 65.4 67.4 66.7 65.0 64.3

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 17,103 17,405 7,830 7,973 9,273 9,432

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.7 63.6 64.9 64.9 62.6 62.7

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 82.6 83.5 85.8 87.1 79.9 80.4

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 68.1 70.5 70.3 73.0 66.1 68.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.8 6.7 8.1 7.4 7.6 6.2

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.7 6.3 7.3 6.7 6.1 6.0

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 17.4 16.5 14.2 12.9 20.1 19.6

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.0 7.6 6.6 5.6 9.2 9.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.3 3.2 2.8 2.6 3.7 3.7

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.1 5.7 4.8 4.6 7.3 6.6

ASIAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 10,003 10,518 4,742 4,999 5,261 5,519

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 6,850 7,174 3,642 3,797 3,207 3,378

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 68.5 68.2 76.8 76.0 61.0 61.2

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 6,738 7,096 3,582 3,754 3,156 3,342

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 67.4 67.5 75.5 75.1 60.0 60.5

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 83.1 83.3 88.3 88.7 77.2 77.4

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 71.4 72.7 77.2 79.1 64.8 65.6

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.0 5.7 7.2 4.9 6.8 6.6

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.7 4.9 3.9 4.6 5.6 5.2

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 16.9 16.7 11.7 11.3 22.8 22.6

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.8 9.4 5.8 5.9 12.1 13.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.2 3.0 1.4 2.0 5.3 4.1

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.9 4.3 4.5 3.4 5.4 5.3

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2005-06 —

Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 29,793 31,054 15,309 15,979 14,484 15,075

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 20,605 21,708 12,296 12,906 8,309 8,802

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 69.2 69.9 80.3 80.8 57.4 58.4

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 20,262 21,447 12,121 12,795 8,141 8,651

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 68.0 69.1 79.2 80.1 56.2 57.4

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 85.0 85.2 90.9 91.4 76.3 75.9

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 70.5 70.9 76.6 77.0 61.4 61.9

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.6 8.5 8.8 9.1 8.2 7.6

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.0 5.8 5.4 5.3 6.7 6.4

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 15.0 14.8 9.1 8.6 23.7 24.1

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.0 7.5 4.8 4.0 12.7 12.7

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 2.5 2.9 1.4 1.9 4.1 4.3

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.5 4.4 2.9 2.6 6.9 7.1

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. Also, see Note, table 1.
Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 2005-06

Extent of unemployment

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

Numbers (in thousands)

Total who worked or looked for work .................................................................... 156,744 158,563 83,230 84,100 73,514 74,463

Percent with unemployment ............................................................................. 9.3 9.1 9.7 9.6 8.8 8.5

Total with unemployment .................................................................................. 14,531 14,424 8,090 8,097 6,441 6,326

Did not work but looked for work .................................................................. 2,422 1,905 1,216 969 1,206 936

1 to 14 weeks ........................................................................................... 1,016 797 436 349 580 448

15 weeks or more ..................................................................................... 1,406 1,108 780 620 626 488

Worked during the year ................................................................................ 12,108 12,519 6,873 7,128 5,235 5,391

Year-round workers 1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment ...................... 429 449 293 295 136 154

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ................................................... 11,680 12,069 6,580 6,833 5,100 5,236

1 to 4 weeks ......................................................................................... 1,939 2,596 1,051 1,278 888 1,317

5 to 10 weeks ....................................................................................... 2,158 2,098 1,197 1,262 961 836

11 to 14 weeks ..................................................................................... 1,690 1,613 1,017 959 673 655

15 to 26 weeks ..................................................................................... 3,347 3,170 1,921 1,863 1,426 1,307

27 weeks or more ................................................................................. 2,545 2,592 1,394 1,472 1,151 1,120

 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ....................................... 14.6 13.8 14.5 14.0 14.8 13.4

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ................................................... 3,092 3,068 1,972 1,929 1,120 1,139

 2 spells ................................................................................................. 1,475 1,559 938 940 537 619

 3 spells or more .................................................................................... 1,618 1,508 1,035 988 583 520

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 ................................................................................................... 41.9 41.8 35.9 36.0 48.1 47.8

15 weeks or more ............................................................................................. 58.1 58.2 64.1 64.0 51.9 52.2

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 .............................. 3.5 3.6 4.3 4.1 2.6 2.9

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ........................................................... 96.5 96.4 95.7 95.9 97.4 97.1

1 to 4 weeks ................................................................................................. 16.0 20.7 15.3 17.9 17.0 24.4

5 to 10 weeks ............................................................................................... 17.8 16.8 17.4 17.7 18.4 15.5

11 to 14 weeks ............................................................................................. 14.0 12.9 14.8 13.4 12.9 12.1

15 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 27.6 25.3 28.0 26.1 27.2 24.3

27 weeks or more ......................................................................................... 21.0 20.7 20.3 20.6 22.0 20.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ............................................... 25.5 24.5 28.7 27.1 21.4 21.1

 2 spells ............................................................................................. 12.2 12.5 13.6 13.2 10.3 11.5

 3 spells or more ................................................................................ 13.4 12.0 15.1 13.9 11.1 9.6

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

 NOTE: See Note, table 1.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2005-06

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

WHITE 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 128,319 129,766 69,410 70,160 58,909 59,606

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 8.5 8.5 8.9 9.0 7.9 7.9

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 10,856 11,042 6,181 6,308 4,675 4,734

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,575 1,263 816 656 759 607

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 9,281 9,779 5,365 5,652 3,916 4,127

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 14.0 13.1 14.2 13.5 13.8 12.5

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 .................. 4.0 4.0 4.7 4.6 3.0 3.2

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 96.0 96.0 95.3 95.4 97.0 96.8

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 17.1 21.5 15.8 18.3 18.7 25.9

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 32.3 30.6 32.5 32.3 32.1 28.4

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 46.6 43.9 46.9 44.8 46.1 42.6

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 25.7 24.6 29.1 26.9 21.1 21.4

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 17,764 17,879 8,133 8,200 9,631 9,678

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 14.8 13.0 16.3 14.5 13.6 11.7

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 2,628 2,323 1,322 1,188 1,306 1,136

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 662 474 303 228 358 246

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 1,967 1,850 1,019 960 948 889

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 18.6 18.8 17.1 19.4 20.1 18.2

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 .................. 2.3 2.2 3.2 2.5 1.2 1.9

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.7 97.8 96.8 97.5 98.8 98.1

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.2 17.1 11.3 15.2 9.0 19.1

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 30.0 24.1 31.1 25.3 28.7 22.8

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 57.5 56.6 54.3 56.9 61.0 56.2

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 24.0 23.7 26.0 27.3 21.8 19.9

ASIAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 6,850 7,174 3,642 3,797 3,207 3,378

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 7.2 7.3 6.7 7.5 7.7 7.0

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 491 521 246 285 246 236

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 111 78 60 42 51 36

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 380 443 186 243 194 200

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 15.8 14.0 15.0 14.7 16.4 13.5

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 .................. 1.0 1.1 1.6 1.9 0.4

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 99.0 98.9 100.0 98.4 98.1 99.6

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 20.6 19.8 22.0 20.2 19.3 19.3

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 26.8 32.7 28.1 29.2 25.6 37.1

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 51.6 46.4 50.0 49.0 53.2 43.2

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 18.5 24.3 18.7 24.9 18.4 23.6

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2005-06 — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 20,605 21,708 12,296 12,906 8,309 8,802

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 10.0 10.2 10.2 10.7 9.6 9.6

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 2,056 2,220 1,256 1,378 799 842

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 343 261 175 110 168 151

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 1,712 1,959 1,081 1,267 631 691

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 14.8 14.1 14.6 14.2 15.2 13.9

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 .................. 3.5 3.6 4.2 4.3 2.2 2.4

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 96.5 96.4 95.8 95.7 97.8 97.6

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 15.9 18.5 14.1 15.9 18.8 23.1

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 31.5 31.0 33.2 32.6 28.6 27.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 49.2 46.9 48.5 47.1 50.4 46.5

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 30.2 29.4 34.6 32.8 22.5 23.1

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. Also, see Note, table 1.