For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 8, 2009 USDL-09-1500 

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 – 2008 

A total of 157.5 million persons worked at some point during 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today. The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2008 was 65.6 percent, 

down from 68.4 percent in 2007. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment in 2008 

increased by 6.1 million to 21.2 million. This sharp increase reflects weak labor market conditions due 

to a recession that began in December 2007. 

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 2008 

data include: 

 The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over who worked at 

some time during 2008 was 67.0 percent, down from 67.7 percent in 2007. 

 The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2008 was 65.6 percent, 

down from 68.4 percent in the prior year. 

 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—was 13.2 percent in 2008, up from 9.5 

percent in 2007. 

 About 3.2 million individuals looked for a job but did not work at all in 2008, up from 

2.1 million in 2007. 

Persons with Employment 

The percent of men who worked during 2008 was 73.1 percent, down from 74.1 percent in 2007. The 

proportion of women who worked at some point during 2008 was 61.3 percent, little changed from 

2007. (See table 1.) 
- 2 - 

The proportions of whites (67.7 percent), blacks (62.5 percent), and Asians (67.4 percent) who worked 

at some time during the year fell in 2008. The proportion of Hispanics who worked at some point during 

2008 was 67.7 percent, little different from 2007. (See table 2.) 

Among those with work experience during 2008, 76.1 percent were employed year round (working 50 

to 52 weeks, either full or part time), down from 78.2 percent in 2007. The percentage of women 

working year round fell by 1.4 percentage points to 74.3 percent in 2008, and the percentage of men 

employed year round fell by 2.8 percentage points to 77.7 percent. (See table 1.) 

Of those employed at some time during 2008, 79.5 percent usually worked full time, down from 80.9 

percent in 2007. Men were more likely to work full time during the year (86.0 percent) than were 

women (72.2 percent). The proportions of employed men and women working full time each declined 

by 1.4 percentage points. 

Persons with Unemployment 

About 160.7 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2008. Of those, 21.2 million 

experienced some unemployment during the year, up from 15.1 million in 2007. Men accounted for 

the majority of the over-the-year increase in unemployment. (See table 3.) 

At 13.2 percent in 2008, 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 3.7 percentage points 

higher than in 2007. The 2008 rate was the highest since 1994. The rates for whites (12.6 percent), 

blacks (17.7 percent), Hispanics (17.5 percent), and Asians (10.0 percent) rose in 2008. (See tables 3 

and 4.) 

Overall, men continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment rates" in 2008 than did women, 

14.5 versus 11.7 percent, respectively. Among whites, the rate for men (13.9 percent) was higher than 

that for women (11.1 percent). This also was the case among blacks (20.5 and 15.3 percent, respectively) and Hispanics (18.7 and 15.8 percent, respectively.) The rates for Asian men (9.5 percent) and 

Asian women (10.5 percent) were little different. 

Among those who experienced unemployment in 2008, the median number of weeks spent looking for 

work was 15.2, up from 13.8 in 2007. The number of individuals who looked for a job but did not work 

at all increased by 1.1 million to about 3.2 million individuals in 2008. Of the 18.0 million persons who 

worked during 2008 and also experienced unemployment, 22.1 percent had 2 or more spells of 

joblessness, down from 23.8 percent in 2007. 
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 2009 refer to the 2008 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 2008 was 

over twice the number unemployed in an average month 

during the year. 

 Employed Unemployed 

2008 estimates (in thousands) 

Annual average of 

monthly estimates 145,362 8,924 

Annual supplement data 157,472 21,205 

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 2008, which were collected in 

the 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 

CPS, are not strictly comparable with data for 2007 and 

earlier years because of the introduction in January 2009 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 decrease the 

December 2008 employment level by 407,000 and the unemployment level by 42,000. For additional information, 

see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2009," available on the Internet at 

www.bls.gov/cps/cps09adj.pdf. 

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. 

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 "Reliability of estimates from the CPS," available on the Internet 

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

Concepts and definitions 

Persons who worked. In the 2009 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 2008?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, 

or seasonal work even for a few days during 2008?" 

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 2008, 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. Partyear 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, 2007-08

Extent of employment

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

Numbers (in thousands)

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................................................... 232,995 235,086 112,695 113,758 120,300 121,328

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 159,750 160,658 84,614 84,781 75,136 75,878

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 68.6 68.3 75.1 74.5 62.5 62.5

Total who worked during the year 1 .................................................................. 157,653 157,472 83,538 83,109 74,115 74,363

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 67.7 67.0 74.1 73.1 61.6 61.3

Full time 2 ..................................................................................................... 127,538 125,116 72,994 71,443 54,544 53,673

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 107,858 103,265 62,287 59,163 45,571 44,101

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,031 2,221 1,203 1,353 829 868

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 5,235 6,177 2,810 3,403 2,425 2,774

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,623 4,981 2,560 2,854 2,063 2,127

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,704 5,071 2,474 2,792 2,230 2,279

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 3,087 3,402 1,661 1,878 1,426 1,524

Part time 3 ..................................................................................................... 30,115 32,356 10,544 11,665 19,571 20,690

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 15,472 16,553 4,930 5,419 10,541 11,134

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 832 875 296 301 536 575

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,580 2,791 903 939 1,678 1,852

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,776 2,954 961 1,209 1,815 1,744

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,248 4,519 1,709 1,900 2,539 2,620

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 4,207 4,662 1,745 1,897 2,462 2,765

Percent distribution

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

Full time 2 ......................................................................................................... 80.9 79.5 87.4 86.0 73.6 72.2

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 68.4 65.6 74.6 71.2 61.5 59.3

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.1 1.2

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.3 3.9 3.4 4.1 3.3 3.7

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 2.9 3.2 3.1 3.4 2.8 2.9

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

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.3 1.9 2.0

Part time 3 ......................................................................................................... 19.1 20.5 12.6 14.0 26.4 27.8

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 9.8 10.5 5.9 6.5 14.2 15.0

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

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.6 1.8 1.1 1.1 2.3 2.5

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.8 1.9 1.2 1.5 2.4 2.3

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 2.7 2.9 2.0 2.3 3.4 3.5

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 2.7 3.0 2.1 2.3 3.3 3.7

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: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Data for 2008, which

were collected in the 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the

Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 2007

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 2009 ," available on the

Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cps09adj.pdf.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2007-08

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

WHITE 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 189,045 190,503 92,469 93,246 96,576 97,257

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 130,472 131,102 70,392 70,346 60,080 60,756

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 69.0 68.8 76.1 75.4 62.2 62.5

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 129,078 128,882 69,659 69,192 59,419 59,690

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 68.3 67.7 75.3 74.2 61.5 61.4

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 80.5 79.1 87.5 86.1 72.3 70.8

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 68.1 65.3 74.7 71.5 60.3 58.1

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.6 8.6 7.9 9.3 7.2 7.7

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.8 5.2 4.8 5.3 4.8 5.0

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 19.5 20.9 12.5 13.9 27.7 29.2

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.1 10.8 5.9 6.5 15.0 15.8

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.1 4.3 2.7 3.0 5.8 5.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.3 5.8 4.0 4.4 6.9 7.4

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 27,709 28,117 12,448 12,644 15,261 15,474

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 18,112 18,296 8,347 8,489 9,765 9,807

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 65.4 65.1 67.1 67.1 64.0 63.4

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 17,602 17,577 8,104 8,096 9,499 9,481

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.5 62.5 65.1 64.0 62.2 61.3

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 83.6 81.5 87.0 84.2 80.7 79.1

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 69.9 66.2 72.4 67.5 67.8 65.0

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.6 8.5 8.1 8.5 7.1 8.4

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.1 6.8 6.4 8.1 5.7 5.7

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 16.4 18.5 13.0 15.8 19.3 20.9

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.9 9.1 5.6 6.9 9.9 10.9

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 2.9 3.3 1.9 2.6 3.7 3.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.6 6.2 5.5 6.3 5.8 6.0

ASIAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 10,571 10,589 4,992 4,976 5,580 5,613

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 7,291 7,270 3,810 3,840 3,480 3,430

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 69.0 68.7 76.3 77.2 62.4 61.1

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 7,171 7,138 3,745 3,783 3,427 3,356

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 67.8 67.4 75.0 76.0 61.4 59.8

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 83.7 83.0 89.1 88.7 77.8 76.6

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 74.3 72.0 80.5 77.6 67.5 65.7

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 5.6 6.2 5.3 6.2 5.9 6.1

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 3.8 4.8 3.4 4.8 4.4 4.8

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 16.3 17.0 10.9 11.3 22.2 23.4

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 9.1 8.6 5.9 5.9 12.6 11.7

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 2.9 3.8 1.9 1.9 4.1 5.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.2 4.6 3.0 3.6 5.5 5.7

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2007-08 —

Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 31,820 32,585 16,355 16,736 15,465 15,849

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 22,092 22,546 13,113 13,189 8,978 9,358

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 69.4 69.2 80.2 78.8 58.1 59.0

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 21,791 22,049 12,978 12,929 8,814 9,120

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 68.5 67.7 79.3 77.3 57.0 57.5

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 84.1 81.5 90.0 87.4 75.5 73.2

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 69.4 64.8 74.8 70.0 61.5 57.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 9.4 10.4 10.3 11.5 8.1 8.9

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.3 6.4 4.9 5.9 6.0 7.1

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 15.9 18.5 10.0 12.6 24.5 26.8

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.3 9.6 5.0 6.2 13.3 14.6

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.1 3.9 2.3 3.0 4.2 5.2

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.5 4.9 2.8 3.4 6.9 7.0

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, 2007-08

Extent of unemployment

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

Numbers (in thousands)

Total who worked or looked for work .................................................................... 159,750 160,658 84,614 84,781 75,136 75,878

Percent with unemployment ............................................................................. 9.5 13.2 10.3 14.5 8.6 11.7

Total with unemployment .................................................................................. 15,117 21,205 8,685 12,306 6,432 8,899

Did not work but looked for work .................................................................. 2,097 3,187 1,076 1,672 1,021 1,514

1 to 14 weeks ........................................................................................... 918 1,124 390 479 527 645

15 weeks or more ..................................................................................... 1,179 2,062 686 1,193 494 869

Worked during the year ................................................................................ 13,020 18,018 7,609 10,633 5,411 7,385

Year-round workers 1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment ...................... 500 763 365 484 135 279

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ................................................... 12,520 17,255 7,244 10,149 5,276 7,106

1 to 4 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,591 2,786 1,365 1,516 1,226 1,270

5 to 10 weeks ....................................................................................... 2,090 2,941 1,214 1,698 876 1,243

11 to 14 weeks ..................................................................................... 1,888 2,435 1,163 1,464 725 971

15 to 26 weeks ..................................................................................... 3,373 4,855 2,058 3,032 1,316 1,823

27 weeks or more ................................................................................. 2,577 4,238 1,443 2,439 1,134 1,799

 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ....................................... 13.8 15.2 14.0 15.7 13.6 14.7

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ................................................... 3,098 3,989 1,982 2,621 1,116 1,368

 2 spells ................................................................................................. 1,420 1,985 840 1,232 580 753

 3 spells or more .................................................................................... 1,678 2,004 1,143 1,389 536 616

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 ................................................................................................... 43.8 35.3 36.3 28.7 51.7 42.6

15 weeks or more ............................................................................................. 56.2 64.7 63.7 71.3 48.3 57.4

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 .............................. 3.8 4.2 4.8 4.6 2.5 3.8

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ........................................................... 96.2 95.8 95.2 95.4 97.5 96.2

1 to 4 weeks ................................................................................................. 19.9 15.5 17.9 14.3 22.6 17.2

5 to 10 weeks ............................................................................................... 16.1 16.3 16.0 16.0 16.2 16.8

11 to 14 weeks ............................................................................................. 14.5 13.5 15.3 13.8 13.4 13.1

15 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 25.9 26.9 27.0 28.5 24.3 24.7

27 weeks or more ......................................................................................... 19.8 23.5 19.0 22.9 21.0 24.4

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ............................................... 23.8 22.1 26.1 24.7 20.6 18.5

 2 spells ............................................................................................. 10.9 11.0 11.0 11.6 10.7 10.2

 3 spells or more ................................................................................ 12.9 11.1 15.0 13.1 9.9 8.3

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, 2007-08

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

WHITE 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 130,472 131,102 70,392 70,346 60,080 60,756

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 9.0 12.6 9.9 13.9 8.0 11.1

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 11,782 16,512 6,951 9,759 4,831 6,753

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,394 2,220 733 1,154 661 1,066

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 10,388 14,291 6,218 8,605 4,170 5,687

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 13.4 14.7 13.6 14.8 13.0 14.3

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 4.3 4.6 5.3 4.9 2.8 4.1

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 95.7 95.4 94.7 95.1 97.2 95.9

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 20.7 15.7 18.7 14.7 23.6 17.3

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 30.8 31.0 31.2 31.0 30.1 30.8

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 44.2 48.8 44.8 49.5 43.5 47.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 24.3 22.7 26.5 25.3 20.9 18.7

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 18,112 18,296 8,347 8,489 9,765 9,807

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 12.7 17.7 13.9 20.5 11.6 15.3

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 2,293 3,243 1,163 1,739 1,130 1,503

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 510 719 244 393 266 326

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 1,783 2,524 919 1,346 864 1,177

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 17.4 19.8 17.1 21.6 17.7 18.0

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 1.3 2.7 0.8 2.7 1.8 2.7

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 98.7 97.3 99.2 97.3 98.2 97.3

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 15.2 13.8 14.6 12.6 16.0 15.2

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 28.5 24.1 30.0 22.6 26.8 25.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 55.0 59.3 54.5 62.1 55.4 56.1

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 21.4 20.4 22.9 22.0 19.9 18.6

ASIAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 7,291 7,270 3,810 3,840 3,480 3,430

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 6.9 10.0 7.0 9.5 6.8 10.5

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 500 725 265 364 235 361

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 119 132 66 57 54 74

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 381 593 200 307 181 287

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 13.5 16.2 15.4 17.3 12.1 14.3

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 4.6 3.6 7.8 4.8 1.2 2.3

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 95.4 96.4 92.2 95.2 98.8 97.7

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 18.2 17.6 9.8 12.9 27.5 22.6

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 31.7 26.4 30.9 26.5 32.5 26.3

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 45.5 52.4 51.5 55.8 38.9 48.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 15.9 15.3 12.9 15.9 19.1 14.7

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2007-08 — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 22,092 22,546 13,113 13,189 8,978 9,358

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 12.3 17.5 13.0 18.7 11.3 15.8

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 2,720 3,938 1,708 2,460 1,012 1,478

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 300 497 136 260 165 238

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 2,420 3,441 1,572 2,200 848 1,240

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 14.2 16.6 13.9 16.6 14.6 16.6

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 2.6 3.6 2.5 3.8 2.8 3.2

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.4 96.4 97.5 96.2 97.2 96.8

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 21.1 13.3 20.4 12.2 22.4 15.2

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 29.9 29.1 31.9 29.6 26.3 28.2

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 46.4 54.0 45.3 54.4 48.5 53.3

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 27.8 26.1 30.8 30.2 22.1 18.7

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.