For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 14, 2018 USDL-18-1942 

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 — 2017

A total of 165.2 million persons worked at some point during 2017, 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 2017 was 64.2 percent, little changed from 2016. The number of persons who 

experienced some unemployment during 2017 declined by 1.1 million to 14.5 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 2017 data: 

• The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2017 was 69.5 percent, up 0.7 

percentage point 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—declined by 0.8 percentage point to 8.6 percent in 2017. (See table 3.) 

• About 2.4 million individuals looked for a job but did not work at all in 2017, down slightly from 2.6 

million in 2016. (See table 3.) 

Persons with Employment

Overall, 64.2 percent of the population worked in 2017, little different from 64.3 percent in 2016. The 

proportions of men and women who worked at some time during 2017 were 70.1 percent and 58.8 

percent, respectively. These proportions showed little change from the prior year. (See table 1.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, the proportions of Whites (64.6 percent), Blacks (61.9 

percent), Asians (64.4 percent), and Hispanics (66.1 percent) who worked at some time during 2017 

showed little or no change from 2016. (See table 2.) 

Among those with work experience in 2017, 80.4 percent usually worked full time, up 0.6 percentage 

point from a year earlier. The proportion of men who usually worked full time increased 0.8 percentage 

point over the year to 86.6 percent in 2017. The share of women who usually worked full time was little 
- 2 - 

changed at 73.5 percent. Among those who worked at some point in 2017, Asians (84.0 percent) were 

more likely to work full time than Whites (80.0 percent), Blacks (81.8 percent), and Hispanics (81.1 

percent). (See tables 1 and 2.)

Of the total who worked during 2017, 80.1 percent were employed year round (working 50 to 52 weeks, 

either full or part time), up from 79.4 percent in 2016. The share of women working year round 

increased by 1.2 percentage points to 78.0 percent in 2017, while the percentage of men working year 

round was little changed at 82.0 percent. (See table 1.) 

Persons with Unemployment

Overall, 167.5 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2017, up by 1.3 million from 

the prior year. Of those, 14.5 million experienced some unemployment during 2017, down by 1.1 

million from 2016. (See table 3.) 

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) continued to decline. In 2017, the work-experience 

unemployment rate declined 0.8 percentage point to 8.6 percent. Since reaching a recent peak of 16.4 

percent in 2009, the rate has declined by 7.8 percentage points. (See table 3.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, the work-experience unemployment rates for Whites (8.0 

percent) and Hispanics (9.9 percent) declined from 2016 to 2017, while the rates for Blacks (12.3 

percent) and Asians (7.0 percent) were little changed. (See table 4.)

In 2017, men continued to have a higher work-experience unemployment rate than women, 9.0 percent 

compared with 8.3 percent. Among Whites, the rate for men was higher than the rate for women, while 

among Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics, the rates for men and women were little different from each other. 

(See tables 3 and 4.)

Among those who experienced unemployment in 2017, the median number of weeks spent looking for 

work was 13.4. The number of persons who looked for a job but did not work at all in 2017 edged down 

by 208,000 over the year to 2.4 million. Of the 12.1 million individuals who both worked and 

experienced unemployment in 2017, 20.2 percent had two or more spells of unemployment, down 1.9 

percentage points from the share in 2016. (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 2018 refer to the 2017 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

2017 estimates (in thousands)

Annual average of

monthly estimates 153,337 6,982

Annual supplement data 165,163 14,461

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 2018 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 2017?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time,

or seasonal work even for a few days during 2017?"

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 2017, 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, 2016-2017

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of Employment

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

NUMBER OF EMPLOYED

Civilian noninstitutional population 254,413 257,097 122,944 124,331 131,469 132,766

Total who worked or looked for work 166,221 167,538 87,368 88,360 78,853 79,177

Percent of the population 65.3 65.2 71.1 71.1 60.0 59.6

Total who worked during the year1 163,638 165,163 86,063 87,147 77,574 78,016

Percent of the population 64.3 64.2 70.0 70.1 59.0 58.8

Full time2 130,560 132,784 73,881 75,471 56,679 57,312

50 to 52 weeks 112,554 114,845 64,299 65,625 48,255 49,221

48 to 49 weeks 1,948 2,180 1,157 1,231 791 949

40 to 47 weeks 5,057 4,899 2,501 2,581 2,556 2,318

27 to 39 weeks 3,821 3,946 2,049 2,227 1,772 1,718

14 to 26 weeks 4,248 4,127 2,293 2,220 1,955 1,907

1 to 13 weeks 2,932 2,787 1,582 1,587 1,350 1,200

Part time3 33,078 32,379 12,182 11,675 20,896 20,703

50 to 52 weeks 17,438 17,457 6,120 5,841 11,318 11,616

48 to 49 weeks 893 806 298 304 595 502

40 to 47 weeks 2,779 2,871 931 977 1,848 1,894

27 to 39 weeks 2,938 2,560 1,110 890 1,828 1,670

14 to 26 weeks 4,507 4,395 1,772 1,806 2,735 2,590

1 to 13 weeks 4,523 4,289 1,952 1,857 2,570 2,432

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Total who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time2 79.8 80.4 85.8 86.6 73.1 73.5

50 to 52 weeks 68.8 69.5 74.7 75.3 62.2 63.1

48 to 49 weeks 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.2

40 to 47 weeks 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.3 3.0

27 to 39 weeks 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.3 2.2

14 to 26 weeks 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.4

1 to 13 weeks 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.5

Part time3 20.2 19.6 14.2 13.4 26.9 26.5

50 to 52 weeks 10.7 10.6 7.1 6.7 14.6 14.9

48 to 49 weeks 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.6

40 to 47 weeks 1.7 1.7 1.1 1.1 2.4 2.4

27 to 39 weeks 1.8 1.6 1.3 1.0 2.4 2.1

14 to 26 weeks 2.8 2.7 2.1 2.1 3.5 3.3

1 to 13 weeks 2.8 2.6 2.3 2.1 3.3 3.1

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: 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, 2016-2017

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

WHITE

Civilian noninstitutional population 198,597 200,003 97,043 97,879 101,554 102,123

Total who worked or looked for work 130,021 130,598 69,608 70,199 60,413 60,399

Percent of the population 65.5 65.3 71.7 71.7 59.5 59.1

Total who worked during the year1 128,370 129,141 68,796 69,456 59,574 59,685

Percent of the population 64.6 64.6 70.9 71.0 58.7 58.4

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time2 79.6 80.0 86.1 86.7 72.0 72.2

50 to 52 weeks 68.7 69.4 75.1 75.6 61.2 62.2

27 to 49 weeks 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 6.8 6.3

1 to 26 weeks 4.1 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.8

Part time3 20.4 20.0 13.9 13.3 28.0 27.8

50 to 52 weeks 10.9 10.8 7.0 6.6 15.3 15.7

27 to 49 weeks 4.2 3.9 2.8 2.6 5.9 5.4

1 to 26 weeks 5.4 5.2 4.1 4.1 6.8 6.6

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN

Civilian noninstitutional population 32,126 32,636 14,652 14,904 17,475 17,733

Total who worked or looked for work 20,534 20,877 9,573 9,775 10,962 11,102

Percent of the population 63.9 64.0 65.3 65.6 62.7 62.6

Total who worked during the year1 19,897 20,215 9,255 9,439 10,643 10,776

Percent of the population 61.9 61.9 63.2 63.3 60.9 60.8

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time2 80.7 81.8 84.4 85.6 77.6 78.5

50 to 52 weeks 68.9 69.9 71.7 73.0 66.5 67.2

27 to 49 weeks 6.2 7.1 6.4 7.5 6.0 6.7

1 to 26 weeks 5.6 4.8 6.2 5.1 5.1 4.6

Part time3 19.3 18.2 15.6 14.4 22.4 21.5

50 to 52 weeks 9.9 9.5 7.8 7.3 11.8 11.5

27 to 49 weeks 3.3 3.3 2.7 2.3 3.8 4.2

1 to 26 weeks 6.0 5.4 5.0 4.8 6.8 5.9

ASIAN

Civilian noninstitutional population 15,399 15,938 7,253 7,509 8,146 8,429

Total who worked or looked for work 10,135 10,382 5,343 5,511 4,792 4,871

Percent of the population 65.8 65.1 73.7 73.4 58.8 57.8

Total who worked during the year1 9,982 10,259 5,263 5,454 4,719 4,805

Percent of the population 64.8 64.4 72.6 72.6 57.9 57.0

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time2 83.0 84.0 88.4 89.8 77.0 77.4

50 to 52 weeks 73.6 73.6 79.5 79.6 67.1 66.8

27 to 49 weeks 5.3 6.3 5.1 6.1 5.4 6.5

1 to 26 weeks 4.1 4.1 3.8 4.1 4.4 4.2

Part time3 17.0 16.0 11.6 10.2 23.0 22.6

50 to 52 weeks 9.3 9.2 6.1 5.9 12.9 13.1

27 to 49 weeks 3.1 2.9 1.9 1.5 4.4 4.5

1 to 26 weeks 4.6 3.9 3.6 2.9 5.7 5.0

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2016-2017 --

Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population 41,081 42,417 20,435 21,130 20,645 21,287

Total who worked or looked for work 27,623 28,480 15,472 16,040 12,151 12,440

Percent of the population 67.2 67.1 75.7 75.9 58.9 58.4

Total who worked during the year1 27,145 28,039 15,236 15,819 11,909 12,221

Percent of the population 66.1 66.1 74.6 74.9 57.7 57.4

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Full time2 81.0 81.1 87.5 87.4 72.6 72.9

50 to 52 weeks 69.1 69.0 75.4 74.6 61.0 61.7

27 to 49 weeks 7.2 7.4 7.9 8.1 6.3 6.6

1 to 26 weeks 4.7 4.7 4.2 4.7 5.3 4.6

Part time3 19.0 18.9 12.5 12.6 27.4 27.1

50 to 52 weeks 10.4 10.7 6.8 7.0 15.2 15.6

27 to 49 weeks 3.4 3.2 2.1 2.0 5.1 4.8

1 to 26 weeks 5.2 5.0 3.7 3.6 7.1 6.7

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, 2016-2017

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of unemployment

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED

Total who worked or looked for work 166,221 167,538 87,368 88,360 78,853 79,177

Percent with unemployment 9.4 8.6 9.5 9.0 9.2 8.3

Total with unemployment 15,570 14,461 8,300 7,921 7,270 6,540

Did not work but looked for work 2,583 2,375 1,304 1,213 1,278 1,162

1 to 14 weeks 961 978 450 437 511 542

15 weeks or more 1,622 1,397 855 777 767 620

Worked during the year 12,987 12,086 6,995 6,708 5,992 5,379

Year-round workers1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 480 426 280 265 199 160

Part-year workers2 with unemployment 12,507 11,661 6,715 6,442 5,792 5,218

1 to 4 weeks 2,553 2,771 1,259 1,414 1,294 1,358

5 to 10 weeks 2,083 1,901 1,073 1,071 1,010 830

11 to 14 weeks 1,559 1,582 844 902 715 680

15 to 26 weeks 3,286 2,846 1,892 1,566 1,394 1,280

27 weeks or more 3,027 2,559 1,647 1,489 1,380 1,070

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers 14.5 13.4 15.3 13.7 13.8 13.0

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 2,871 2,438 1,634 1,482 1,237 956

2 spells 1,441 1,123 787 625 655 498

3 spells or more 1,430 1,315 847 857 583 458

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 37.2 41.2 34.5 36.0 40.0 46.6

15 weeks or more 62.8 58.8 65.5 64.0 60.0 53.4

Worked during the year 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 3.7 3.5 4.0 4.0 3.3 3.0

Part-year workers2 with unemployment 96.3 96.5 96.0 96.0 96.7 97.0

1 to 4 weeks 19.7 22.9 18.0 21.1 21.6 25.2

5 to 10 weeks 16.0 15.7 15.3 16.0 16.9 15.4

11 to 14 weeks 12.0 13.1 12.1 13.5 11.9 12.6

15 to 26 weeks 25.3 23.5 27.0 23.4 23.3 23.8

27 weeks or more 23.3 21.2 23.5 22.2 23.0 19.9

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 22.1 20.2 23.4 22.1 20.7 17.8

2 spells 11.1 9.3 11.2 9.3 10.9 9.3

3 spells or more 11.0 10.9 12.1 12.8 9.7 8.5

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, 2016-2017

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

WHITE

Total who worked or looked for work 130,021 130,598 69,608 70,199 60,413 60,399

Percent with unemployment 8.8 8.0 8.8 8.5 8.7 7.5

Total with unemployment 11,379 10,469 6,148 5,952 5,231 4,517

Did not work but looked for work 1,651 1,457 811 743 839 714

Worked during the year 9,729 9,012 5,337 5,209 4,392 3,803

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers 13.9 12.6 14.6 13.0 13.1 11.9

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 3.8 3.9 4.2 4.4 3.2 3.1

Part-year workers3 with unemployment 96.2 96.1 95.8 95.6 96.8 96.9

1 to 4 weeks 20.7 24.1 18.7 21.6 23.0 27.5

5 to 14 weeks 28.9 30.1 28.4 30.7 29.6 29.2

15 weeks or more 46.7 42.0 48.7 43.3 44.2 40.2

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 22.5 20.3 23.2 22.4 21.5 17.4

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN

Total who worked or looked for work 20,534 20,877 9,573 9,775 10,962 11,102

Percent with unemployment 13.1 12.3 14.2 12.6 12.2 12.0

Total with unemployment 2,694 2,569 1,360 1,232 1,334 1,337

Did not work but looked for work 637 662 318 336 319 326

Worked during the year 2,057 1,907 1,041 896 1,015 1,012

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers 19.0 16.9 20.2 16.6 17.6 17.3

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 3.7 2.5 3.0 2.8 4.5 2.2

Part-year workers3 with unemployment 96.3 97.5 97.0 97.2 95.5 97.8

1 to 4 weeks 13.8 15.9 13.1 16.6 14.6 15.4

5 to 14 weeks 24.9 27.1 23.5 26.4 26.2 27.8

15 weeks or more 57.6 54.4 60.4 54.2 54.7 54.6

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 22.5 20.1 27.4 19.1 17.5 21.0

ASIAN

Total who worked or looked for work 10,135 10,382 5,343 5,511 4,792 4,871

Percent with unemployment 7.3 7.0 6.9 6.5 7.7 7.5

Total with unemployment 741 725 371 359 370 366

Did not work but looked for work 153 123 79 57 73 66

Worked during the year 588 602 292 302 296 300

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers 14.1 13.9 13.5 13.8 14.9 14.0

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 3.2 2.8 3.0 1.9 3.3 3.6

Part-year workers3 with unemployment 96.8 97.2 97.0 98.1 96.7 96.4

1 to 4 weeks 22.4 26.6 22.8 24.6 21.9 28.7

5 to 14 weeks 27.3 24.7 29.6 28.7 25.1 20.6

15 weeks or more 47.1 45.9 44.6 44.8 49.7 47.0

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 15.0 17.7 14.9 21.3 15.1 14.0

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2016-2017 -- Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total

2016 2017

Men

2016 2017

Women

2016 2017

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total who worked or looked for work 27,623 28,480 15,472 16,040 12,151 12,440

Percent with unemployment 11.1 9.9 11.1 10.1 11.0 9.6

Total with unemployment 3,057 2,813 1,724 1,616 1,334 1,196

Did not work but looked for work 478 441 236 222 243 219

Worked during the year 2,579 2,372 1,488 1,395 1,091 977

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers 14.8 13.3 14.6 13.7 15.0 12.7

Percent who worked during the year1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Year-round workers2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment 3.6 3.3 4.5 2.9 2.3 3.9

Part-year workers3 with unemployment 96.4 96.7 95.5 97.1 97.7 96.1

1 to 4 weeks 21.3 22.7 20.2 21.0 22.9 25.1

5 to 14 weeks 25.8 29.4 26.5 30.6 24.8 27.6

15 weeks or more 49.4 44.6 48.8 45.5 50.0 43.3

With 2 spells or more of unemployment 22.1 23.3 23.7 27.3 19.9 17.6

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.