Technical information:  (202) 691-6378        USDL 03-911
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                              For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902        Friday, December 19, 2003

   
                 WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 2002
   
   
   A total of 150.8 million persons worked at some point during 2002, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
The number of persons who experienced some unemployment during the year
rose to 16.8 million in 2002, 968,000 higher than the year before.
   
   These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social and
Economic Supplement 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.  Additional information about the CPS and the annual supplement, 
including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note.
Highlights from the 2002 data include:
   
   --The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years old 
     and over that worked at some time during the year was 68.4 percent in
     2002, down from 69.3 percent the year before.
   
   --The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round (66.3 percent) 
     was unchanged from the prior year.  Although this proportion was lower 
     than it had been in 2000 when it peaked at 66.7 percent, it is still high 
     by historical standards.
   
   --The "work-experience unemployment rate"--defined as the number unem-
     ployed at some time during the year as a proportion of the number who 
     worked or looked for work during the year--rose by 0.6 percentage point 
     to 11.0 percent. 
   
Persons with Employment
   
   In 2002, the proportion of the civilian noninstituional population 16
years old and over that worked at some point during the year was 68.4 per-
cent, 0.9 percentage point below its 2001 level.  (See table 1.)  In
contrast, from 1986 through 2001, the proportion with work experience had
remained at or above 69.0 percent, peaking at 70.6 percent in 1999.
   
   Among those with work experience during 2002, 76.0 percent were employed
year round (either full or part time), essentially the same as in 2001.
Continuing a long-term growth trend, full-year employment among women
increased to 73.0 percent from 72.3 percent in 2001.
   
   As in the prior year, about 4 out of 5 of those who were employed at 
some time during 2002 worked full time.  The proportions of men or women 
who worked full time were also little changed between 2001 and 2002.  
(See table 1.)
   
Persons with Unemployment
   
   Overall, 153.4 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in
2002.  Of these, 16.8 million experienced some unemployment during the year, 
up from 15.8 million in 2001.  Men accounted for about 70 percent of the over-
the-year increase.

   At 11.0 percent in 2002, the "work-experience unemployment rate" was the
highest it has been since 1996, when it was 11.7 percent.  The rate for
blacks in 2002, 14.9 percent, was higher than the rates for Hispanics (12.8
percent), Asians (10.8 percent), or whites (10.3 percent).  (See tables 3
and 4.)
   
                                  - 2 -

   The "work-experience unemployment rate" for black men (16.3 percent) was
somewhat higher than that for black women (13.7 percent), as was the rate
for white men (11.2 percent) versus white women (9.1 percent).  In contrast, 
among Hispanics and Asians, there was little difference in the rates for men 
and women in 2002.  (See table 4.)
   
   The median number of weeks spent looking for work for those who experi-
enced unemployment in 2002 was 15.5, up from 13.7 weeks the year before.  
Some 2.7 million individuals who had looked for a job did not work at all 
in 2002, up from 2.0 million a year earlier.  Of the 14.1 million persons 
who worked during the year and also experienced unemployment, 22.8 percent 
had two or more spells of joblessness, down from 24.7 percent in 2001.
   
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 2003 refer to the 2002 calendar year.  Because the refer-
ence 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 experi-
encing any unemployment during 2002 was about twice the number unemployed 
in an average month during the year.

                                     Employed      Unemployed
   2002 estimates (in thousands)
     Annual average of
       monthly estimates             136,485          8,378
     Annual supplement data          150,755         16,802

   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 2002, which were collected in the 2003 Annual
Social and Economic Supplement to the CPS, are not strictly comparable with
data for 2001 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2003
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 January 2003 employment level by 576,000 and the unemployment level by
38,000 relative to the December 2002 level.  For additional information,
see "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003"
in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on the
Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.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 de-
pending 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.
   
                                  - 2 - 

   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 infor-
mation 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 2003 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 2002?" or "Did you do any temporary, 
part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 2002?"
   
   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 2002, 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.
   
   
     Table 1.  Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 2001-02
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                Men                Women       
                           Extent of employment                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         2001      2002      2001      2002      2001      2002  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                      
                                                                                        Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                 
     Civilian noninstitutional population............................  216,788   220,285   104,162   105,973   112,626   114,312 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  152,300   153,411    80,304    80,933    71,996    72,478 
         Percent of the population...................................     70.3      69.6      77.1      76.4      63.9      63.4 
       Total who worked during the year(1)...........................  150,286   150,755    79,300    79,564    70,986    71,191 
         Percent of the population...................................     69.3      68.4      76.1      75.1      63.0      62.3 
                                                                                                                                 
         Full time(2)................................................  121,182   120,970    69,414    69,445    51,768    51,525 
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   99,644    99,946    58,076    58,115    41,568    41,831 
           48 to 49 weeks............................................    2,323     2,113     1,373     1,261       950       852 
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    5,827     5,604     3,067     3,002     2,759     2,602 
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    5,002     4,803     2,631     2,522     2,370     2,281 
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    4,850     4,898     2,488     2,636     2,362     2,262 
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    3,536     3,605     1,779     1,908     1,757     1,697 
                                                                                                                                 
         Part time(3)................................................   29,103    29,785     9,885    10,120    19,218    19,666 
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   14,025    14,615     4,298     4,499     9,727    10,116 
           48 to 49 weeks............................................      828       820       262       294       566       526 
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    2,562     2,547       801       811     1,761     1,737 
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    2,747     2,807       924       929     1,823     1,878 
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    4,188     4,488     1,672     1,769     2,516     2,719 
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    4,753     4,508     1,928     1,818     2,825     2,690 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                      
                                                                                         Percent distribution
                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                 
     Total who worked during the year(1).............................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
                                                                                                                                 
       Full time(2)..................................................     80.6      80.2      87.5      87.3      72.9      72.4 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................     66.3      66.3      73.2      73.0      58.6      58.8 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................      1.5       1.4       1.7       1.6       1.3       1.2 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................      3.9       3.7       3.9       3.8       3.9       3.7 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................      3.3       3.2       3.3       3.2       3.3       3.2 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................      3.2       3.2       3.1       3.3       3.3       3.2 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................      2.4       2.4       2.2       2.4       2.5       2.4 
                                                                                                                                 
       Part time(3)..................................................     19.4      19.8      12.5      12.7      27.1      27.6 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................      9.3       9.7       5.4       5.7      13.7      14.2 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................       .6        .5        .3        .4        .8        .7 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................      1.7       1.7       1.0       1.0       2.5       2.4 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................      1.8       1.9       1.2       1.2       2.6       2.6 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................      2.8       3.0       2.1       2.2       3.5       3.8 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................      3.2       3.0       2.4       2.3       4.0       3.8 

       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 2002, which were collected in the 2003 Annual Social and
     Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2001 and earlier  years
     because of introduction in January 2003 of revised population controls used in the survey.  For additional information, see
     the technical note and "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003" in the February 2003 issue of 
     Employment and Earnings available on the Internet at http: //www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf. 
     Table 2.  Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2001-02

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                Men                Women       
       Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                              
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         2001      2002      2001      2002      2001      2002  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                WHITE (1)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................  179,293   180,648    87,105    87,873    92,188    92,776 
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................  126,353   126,416    67,703    67,836    58,650    58,580 
           Percent of the population.................................     70.5      70.0      77.7      77.2      63.6      63.1 
         Total who worked during the year(2).........................  125,097   124,727    67,076    66,966    58,021    57,761 
           Percent of the population.................................     69.8      69.0      77.0      76.2      62.9      62.3 
                                                                                                                                 
         Percent who worked during the year(2).......................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
           Full time(3)..............................................     80.2      79.9      87.8      87.5      71.5      71.0 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     66.3      66.1      73.8      73.5      57.5      57.6 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      8.6       8.3       8.9       8.5       8.4       8.1 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.3       5.4       5.1       5.5       5.6       5.3 
           Part time(4)..............................................     19.8      20.1      12.2      12.5      28.5      29.0 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      9.7      10.0       5.4       5.6      14.7      15.2 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      4.2       4.2       2.5       2.5       6.2       6.2 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.8       5.9       4.3       4.4       7.6       7.7 
                                                                                                                                 
                      BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN (1)                                                                              
                                                                                                                                 
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   25,445    25,547    11,325    11,385    14,119    14,162 
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   17,493    17,176     8,097     7,862     9,397     9,314 
           Percent of the population.................................     68.8      67.2      71.5      69.1      66.6      65.8 
         Total who worked during the year(2).........................   16,876    16,471     7,787     7,494     9,089     8,976 
           Percent of the population.................................     66.3      64.5      68.8      65.8      64.4      63.4 
                                                                                                                                 
         Percent who worked during the year(2).......................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
           Full time(3)..............................................     83.0      83.0      86.0      85.9      80.4      80.6 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     66.6      67.9      69.5      70.0      64.2      66.0 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      9.2       8.1       9.2       8.4       9.3       7.9 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      7.1       7.0       7.3       7.5       6.9       6.7 
           Part time(4)..............................................     17.0      17.0      14.0      14.1      19.6      19.4 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      6.9       7.7       5.1       6.0       8.4       9.1 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.4       3.1       2.7       2.5       4.1       3.7 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      6.7       6.2       6.2       5.6       7.1       6.7 
                                                                                                                                 
                                ASIAN (1)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................    9,636     9,141     4,635     4,317     5,001     4,824 
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................    6,779     6,294     3,638     3,357     3,141     2,937 
           Percent of the population.................................     70.4      68.9      78.5      77.8      62.8      60.9 
         Total who worked during the year(2).........................    6,680     6,139     3,586     3,282     3,094     2,857 
           Percent of the population.................................     69.3      67.2      77.4      76.0      61.9      59.2 
                                                                                                                                 
         Percent who worked during the year(2).......................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
           Full time(3)..............................................     82.5      82.8      86.8      87.8      77.5      77.1 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     68.7      70.2      73.2      76.0      63.5      63.5 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      8.4       7.4       8.2       7.6       8.7       7.3 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.4       5.2       5.5       4.2       5.4       6.3 
           Part time(4)..............................................     17.5      17.2      13.2      12.2      22.5      22.9 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      9.0       8.5       6.5       5.6      12.0      11.8 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.0       3.2       2.1       2.4       4.0       4.1 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.5       5.5       4.6       4.2       6.5       7.0 
                                                                                                                                 
                       HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                              
                                                                                                                                 
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   25,642    27,184    13,051    13,903    12,591    13,281 
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   18,093    18,990    10,484    11,194     7,609     7,795 
           Percent of the population.................................     70.6      69.9      80.3      80.5      60.4      58.7 
         Total who worked during the year(2).........................   17,799    18,606    10,356    11,030     7,443     7,576 
           Percent of the population.................................     69.4      68.4      79.3      79.3      59.1      57.0 
                                                                                                                                 
         Percent who worked during the year(2).......................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
           Full time(3)..............................................     84.2      84.2      90.0      89.3      76.2      76.6 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     67.1      68.2      73.3      73.5      58.5      60.4 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      9.9       9.4      10.2      10.0       9.5       8.6 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      7.2       6.5       6.5       5.8       8.2       7.6 
           Part time(4)..............................................     15.8      15.8      10.0      10.7      23.8      23.4 
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      8.1       8.1       4.7       5.6      12.9      11.9 
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      2.8       3.0       1.8       2.0       4.1       4.4 
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      4.9       4.7       3.5       3.1       6.8       7.1 

       1 Beginning with data for 2002, which were collected in the 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current
     Population Survey (CPS), persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are
     excluded.  Prior to 2002, persons who reported more than one race were included in the group they identified as their main
     race.  Also beginning in 2002, Asians no longer include Pacific Islanders.
       2 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
       3 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week.
       4 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.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or 
     Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.  Data refers to persons 16 years 
     and over.  Also, see Note, table 1.

     Table 3.  Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 2001-02
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                Men                Women       
                          Extent of unemployment                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         2001      2002      2001      2002      2001      2002  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                      
                                                                                        Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                 
     Total who worked or looked for work.............................  152,300   153,411    80,304    80,933    71,996    72,478 
       Percent with unemployment.....................................     10.4      11.0      11.1      11.9       9.6       9.9 
                                                                                                                                 
       Total with unemployment.......................................   15,834    16,802     8,919     9,603     6,915     7,199 
         Did not work but looked for work............................    2,014     2,656     1,004     1,369     1,010     1,287 
           1 to 14 weeks.............................................      939       931       419       373       520       558 
           15 weeks or more..........................................    1,075     1,725       585       996       490       729 
         Worked during the year......................................   13,820    14,146     7,915     8,234     5,905     5,912 
           Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment...      602       581       421       361       180       220 
           Part-year workers(2) with unemployment....................   13,218    13,565     7,493     7,873     5,725     5,692 
             1 to 4 weeks............................................    2,365     1,997     1,244     1,071     1,121       927 
             5 to 10 weeks...........................................    2,556     2,371     1,445     1,340     1,111     1,031 
             11 to 14 weeks..........................................    2,038     1,966     1,207     1,182       831       784 
             15 to 26 weeks..........................................    3,681     3,847     2,188     2,282     1,492     1,566 
             27 weeks or more........................................    2,579     3,383     1,409     1,998     1,170     1,385 
                                                                                                                                 
                 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers........     13.7      15.5      13.8      15.9      13.6      15.0 
                                                                                                                                 
                 With 2 spells or more of unemployment...............    3,420     3,222     2,099     1,916     1,321     1,306 
                   2 spells..........................................    1,642     1,553     1,001       911       641       642 
                   3 spells or more..................................    1,778     1,669     1,098     1,006       680       664 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                      
                                                                                         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.................................................     46.6      35.1      41.7      27.2      51.5      43.4 
       15 weeks or more..............................................     53.4      64.9      58.3      72.8      48.5      56.6 
     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.......      4.4       4.1       5.3       4.4       3.1       3.7 
       Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................     95.6      95.9      94.7      95.6      96.9      96.3 
         1 to 4 weeks................................................     17.1      14.1      15.7      13.0      19.0      15.7 
         5 to 10 weeks...............................................     18.5      16.8      18.3      16.3      18.8      17.4 
         11 to 14 weeks..............................................     14.7      13.9      15.2      14.4      14.1      13.3 
         15 to 26 weeks..............................................     26.6      27.2      27.6      27.7      25.3      26.5 
         27 weeks or more............................................     18.7      23.9      17.8      24.3      19.8      23.4 
                                                                                                                                 
                   With 2 spells or more of unemployment.............     24.7      22.8      26.5      23.3      22.4      22.1 
                     2 spells........................................     11.9      11.0      12.6      11.1      10.9      10.9 
                     3 spells or more................................     12.9      11.8      13.9      12.2      11.5      11.2 

       1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
       2 Worked less than 50 weeks.
       NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and over.  Also, see Note, table 1.



     Table 4.  Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2001-02

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                Men                Women       
      Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                             
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         2001      2002      2001      2002      2001      2002  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                WHITE (1)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  126,353   126,416    67,703    67,836    58,650    58,580 
         Percent with unemployment...................................      9.6      10.3      10.4      11.2       8.8       9.1 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................   12,157    12,962     7,010     7,624     5,147     5,339 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................    1,256     1,689       627       870       629       819 
           Worked during the year....................................   10,900    11,273     6,383     6,753     4,517     4,520 
                                                                                                                               
                Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.........     13.1      14.7      13.2      15.3      13.0      14.0 
                                                                                                                                 
           Percent who worked during the year(2).....................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
             Year-round workers(3) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment.      4.8       4.5       5.9       4.7       3.2       4.2 
             Part-year workers(4) with unemployment..................     95.2      95.5      94.1      95.3      96.8      95.8 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     17.7      14.0      16.1      13.0      19.9      15.6 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     34.5      32.5      34.7      31.7      34.2      33.7 
               15 weeks or more......................................     43.0      49.0      43.2      50.6      42.7      46.5 
                                                                                                                                 
                         With 2 spells or more of unemployment.......     24.6      22.3      26.7      22.9      21.6      21.3 
                                                                                                                                 
                      BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN (1)                                                                              
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   17,493    17,176     8,097     7,862     9,397     9,314 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     15.4      14.9      16.9      16.3      14.0      13.7 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,689     2,557     1,372     1,282     1,317     1,274 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      617       706       309       368       307       338 
           Worked during the year....................................    2,072     1,851     1,062       915     1,010       936 
           
                Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.........     17.8      20.4      17.5      19.7      18.0      21.1 
                                                                                                                                 
           Percent who worked during the year(2).....................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
             Year-round workers(3) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment.      2.2       2.3       2.5       2.9       1.8       1.7 
             Part-year workers(4) with unemployment..................     97.8      97.7      97.5      97.1      98.2      98.3 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     14.2      12.4      13.9      10.6      14.5      14.1 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     27.0      22.9      27.1      25.9      26.8      19.9 
               15 weeks or more......................................     56.7      62.4      56.4      60.6      56.9      64.2 
                                                                                                                                 
                         With 2 spells or more of unemployment.......     25.4      25.2      25.1      25.8      25.8      24.6 
                                                                                                                                 
                                ASIAN (1)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................    6,779     6,294     3,638     3,357     3,141     2,937 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     10.1      10.8      10.1      10.4      10.1      11.3 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................      685       681       368       350       317       331 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      100       155        52        75        48        80 
           Worked during the year....................................      585       527       316       276       270       251 
                
                Median weeks of unemployment of all workers..........     13.8      17.3      15.6      17.4      11.7      17.2 
                                                                                                                                 
           Percent who worked during the year(2).....................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
             Year-round workers(3) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment.      4.4       2.5       3.1       1.3       6.0       3.9 
             Part-year workers(4) with unemployment..................     95.6      97.5      96.9      98.7      94.0      96.1 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     17.8      19.6      15.3      19.1      20.6      20.1 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     32.3      22.3      30.1      23.2      34.8      21.4 
               15 weeks or more......................................     45.5      55.6      51.5      56.4      38.6      54.6 
                                                                                                                                 
                         With 2 spells or more of unemployment.......     19.9      19.7      20.2      17.8      19.5      21.7 
                                                                                                                                 
                       HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                              
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   18,093    18,990    10,484    11,194     7,609     7,795 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     12.7      12.8      13.1      12.8      12.2      12.9 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,304     2,436     1,373     1,430       930     1,006 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      294       384       128       164       166       220 
           Worked during the year....................................    2,010     2,053     1,245     1,266       764       786 
               
                Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.........     14.9      16.7      14.3      15.7      16.5      18.5 
                                                                                                                                 
           Percent who worked during the year(2).....................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
             Year-round workers(3) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment.      3.9       4.2       4.3       4.1       3.3       4.2 
             Part-year workers(4) with unemployment..................     96.1      95.8      95.7      95.9      96.7      95.8 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     13.4      14.1      13.0      13.8      14.0      14.6 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     32.9      28.1      35.3      30.6      28.9      24.2 
               15 weeks or more......................................     49.8      53.6      47.3      51.5      53.7      57.0 
                                                                                                                                 
                         With 2 spells or more of unemployment.......     26.4      22.7      27.3      24.5      25.1      19.9 

       1 Beginning with data for 2002, which were collected in the 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current
     Population Survey (CPS), persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are
     excluded.  Prior to 2002, persons who reported more than one race were included in the group they identified as their main
     race.  Also beginning in 2002, Asians no longer include Pacific Islanders.
       2 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
       3 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
       4 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.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
     Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.  Data refer to persons 16 years
     and over.  Also, see Note, table 1.