For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 18, 2012 USDL-12-2459 

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 — 2011 

A total of 153.5 million persons worked at some point during 2011, 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 2011 was 63.3 percent, down from 63.7 percent in 2010. The number of persons who 

experienced some unemployment during 2011 was 23.7 million, down by 1.5 million from 2010. 

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 2011 data: 

 The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2011 was 65.8 percent, up from 

64.7 percent in 2010. (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—was 14.9 percent in 2011, down from 15.9 percent in 2010. (See table 3.) 

 The number of individuals who looked for a job but did not work at all during 2011 declined by 

348,000 over the year to 6.2 million. (See table 3.) 

Persons with Employment 

Overall, 63.3 percent of the population worked in 2011. The proportion of men who worked during the 

year was 68.8 percent, down from 69.3 percent in 2010. The proportion of women who worked at some 

point during 2011 was 58.1 percent, little changed from the prior year. (See table 1.) 

The proportion of whites (64.1 percent) who worked at some time during 2011 declined from 2010, 

while the share of blacks (58.2 percent), Asians (62.8 percent), and Hispanics (63.4 percent) showed 

little or no change. (See table 2.) 

Of those employed at some time during 2011, 78.6 percent usually worked full time, up from 78.2 

percent a year earlier. The proportion of employed men working full time rose, while the proportion of 
- 2 - 

women changed little. Men continued to be more likely than women to work full time during the year, 

84.8 versus 71.7 percent. 

Of the total who worked during 2011, 77.0 percent were employed year round (working 50 to 52 weeks, 

either full or part time), an increase from 75.9 percent in 2010. The share of men employed year round 

rose by 1.7 percentage points to 78.4 percent in 2011, while the percentage of women working year 

round was little changed at 75.5 percent. (See table 1.) 

Persons with Unemployment 

About 159.7 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2011. Of those, 23.7 million 

experienced some unemployment during the year, 1.5 million fewer than in 2010. 

At 14.9 percent in 2011, the work-experience unemployment rate (those looking for work during the 

year as a percent of those who worked or looked for work during the year) was 1.0 percentage point 

lower than in 2010. The rate for 2009 (16.4 percent) was the highest since 1985. The work-experience 

unemployment rate for men has also fallen since a recent peak in 2009, but the rate for women was 

about unchanged. Men continued to have higher work-experience unemployment rates in 2011 than 

women, 15.8 versus 13.8 percent. (See table 3.) 

The work-experience unemployment rates for whites (13.7 percent) and Hispanics (18.3 percent) 

declined from 2010 to 2011, while the rates for blacks (22.2 percent) and Asians (12.2 percent) were 

little changed. Among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, the rates for men were higher than the rates for 

women. Among Asians, the rates for men and women were little different from each other. (See table 4.) 

Among those who experienced unemployment in 2011, the median number of weeks spent looking for 

work was 19.8, about unchanged from 2009 and 2010. The number of persons who looked for a job but 

did not work at all in 2011 declined by 348,000 over the year to 6.2 million. Of the 17.5 million 

individuals who worked during 2011 and also experienced unemployment, 1 in 5 had two or more spells 

of joblessness, about the same as in the prior 2 years. (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 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 supplement, 

conducted in the months of February through April, includes 

questions about work activity during the prior calendar year. 

For instance, data collected in 2012 refer to the 2011 

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 2011 was about twice the number 

unemployed in an average month during the year. 

 Employed Unemployed 

2011 estimates (in thousands) 

 Annual average of 

 monthly estimates 139,869 13,747 

 Annual supplement data 153,479 23,739 

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 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. 

Work experience data for 2011, which were collected in 

the 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 

CPS, are not strictly comparable with data for 2010 and 

earlier years because of the introduction in January 2012 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 January 2012 

controls on the monthly CPS estimates was to increase the 

December 2011 employment level by 216,000 and the 

unemployment level by 42,000. Additional information is 

online 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 

Persons who worked. In the 2012 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 2011?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, 

or seasonal work even for a few days during 2011?" 

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 2011, 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, 2010-11

Extent of employment

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

Numbers (in thousands)

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................................................... 238,999 242,602 115,986 116,984 123,012 125,619

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 158,882 159,693 84,000 83,715 74,882 75,978

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 66.5 65.8 72.4 71.6 60.9 60.5

Total who worked during the year 1 .................................................................. 152,320 153,479 80,341 80,503 71,980 72,976

Percent of the population .............................................................................. 63.7 63.3 69.3 68.8 58.5 58.1

Full time 2 ..................................................................................................... 119,145 120,585 67,693 68,289 51,452 52,295

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 98,490 100,915 55,738 57,288 42,752 43,627

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 1,800 1,691 1,084 971 715 720

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 5,392 4,862 3,052 2,639 2,340 2,223

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,498 4,474 2,609 2,561 1,888 1,913

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 5,287 5,291 3,103 2,941 2,184 2,350

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 3,680 3,351 2,106 1,889 1,574 1,463

Part time 3 ..................................................................................................... 33,175 32,895 12,648 12,214 20,528 20,681

50 to 52 weeks ......................................................................................... 17,113 17,247 5,874 5,786 11,239 11,460

48 to 49 weeks ......................................................................................... 780 791 257 295 523 496

40 to 47 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,941 2,633 1,079 987 1,863 1,647

27 to 39 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,856 2,855 1,183 1,121 1,673 1,735

14 to 26 weeks ......................................................................................... 4,753 4,729 2,141 2,009 2,611 2,719

1 to 13 weeks ........................................................................................... 4,732 4,639 2,113 2,016 2,619 2,623

Percent distribution

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

Full time 2 ......................................................................................................... 78.2 78.6 84.3 84.8 71.5 71.7

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 64.7 65.8 69.4 71.2 59.4 59.8

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

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.5 3.2 3.8 3.3 3.3 3.0

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.2 2.6 2.6

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.5 3.4 3.9 3.7 3.0 3.2

1 to 13 weeks ............................................................................................... 2.4 2.2 2.6 2.3 2.2 2.0

Part time 3 ......................................................................................................... 21.8 21.4 15.7 15.2 28.5 28.3

50 to 52 weeks ............................................................................................. 11.2 11.2 7.3 7.2 15.6 15.7

48 to 49 weeks ............................................................................................. 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.7

40 to 47 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.9 1.7 1.3 1.2 2.6 2.3

27 to 39 weeks ............................................................................................. 1.9 1.9 1.5 1.4 2.3 2.4

14 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 3.1 3.1 2.7 2.5 3.6 3.7

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

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

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

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2010-11

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

WHITE 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 192,792 192,898 94,689 94,146 98,103 98,752

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 129,249 127,809 69,593 68,304 59,656 59,505

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 67.0 66.3 73.5 72.6 60.8 60.3

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 124,651 123,717 66,984 66,180 57,667 57,537

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 64.7 64.1 70.7 70.3 58.8 58.3

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 77.9 78.4 84.5 85.1 70.2 70.6

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 64.5 65.8 69.6 71.7 58.6 59.0

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 7.7 7.2 8.5 7.7 6.7 6.7

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.7 5.4 6.4 5.8 4.9 5.0

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 22.1 21.6 15.5 14.9 29.8 29.4

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.5 11.4 7.3 7.0 16.4 16.5

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.5 4.2 3.1 3.0 6.0 5.5

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.1 6.0 5.1 4.8 7.3 7.4

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 29,004 29,790 13,108 13,447 15,896 16,343

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 18,263 18,822 8,466 8,685 9,797 10,137

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.0 63.2 64.6 64.6 61.6 62.0

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 16,868 17,332 7,708 7,932 9,160 9,399

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 58.2 58.2 58.8 59.0 57.6 57.5

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 79.6 79.4 82.0 82.2 77.6 77.1

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 64.5 65.0 66.0 66.1 63.2 64.0

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 8.3 7.2 8.6 8.1 8.0 6.5

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 6.8 7.2 7.4 8.1 6.3 6.5

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 20.4 20.6 18.0 17.8 22.4 22.9

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 9.5 10.0 7.3 8.3 11.4 11.3

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.4 4.0 3.2 3.2 3.6 4.6

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 7.4 6.7 7.5 6.3 7.4 7.0

ASIAN 

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 11,320 12,813 5,325 5,979 5,995 6,834

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 7,569 8,364 3,955 4,347 3,614 4,017

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 66.9 65.3 74.3 72.7 60.3 58.8

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 7,253 8,048 3,811 4,194 3,442 3,854

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 64.1 62.8 71.6 70.1 57.4 56.4

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 81.7 81.4 87.2 87.0 75.7 75.3

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 70.7 70.4 76.4 76.6 64.4 63.6

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 5.7 6.2 5.9 5.7 5.5 6.7

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.4 4.9 5.0 4.7 5.8 5.0

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 18.3 18.6 12.8 13.0 24.3 24.7

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.1 11.0 6.6 7.2 14.1 15.1

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 3.6 3.1 2.6 2.0 4.7 4.3

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 4.5 4.5 3.6 3.8 5.5 5.3

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2010-11 —

Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................................... 34,155 36,461 17,602 18,276 16,552 18,185

Total who worked or looked for work ............................................................ 22,825 24,216 13,301 13,683 9,524 10,533

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 66.8 66.4 75.6 74.9 57.5 57.9

Total who worked during the year 1 .............................................................. 21,686 23,124 12,663 13,127 9,023 9,997

Percent of the population .......................................................................... 63.5 63.4 71.9 71.8 54.5 55.0

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

Full time 2 ................................................................................................. 78.9 79.2 84.0 84.6 71.8 72.1

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 62.2 64.3 65.7 68.6 57.2 58.8

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 9.8 8.5 11.0 9.6 8.1 7.1

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 7.0 6.3 7.3 6.4 6.5 6.2

Part time 3 ................................................................................................. 21.1 20.8 16.0 15.4 28.2 27.9

50 to 52 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.2 11.3 8.0 7.8 15.8 15.9

27 to 49 weeks ..................................................................................... 4.1 3.8 3.4 3.0 5.0 4.8

1 to 26 weeks ....................................................................................... 5.8 5.7 4.6 4.7 7.4 7.2

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, 2010-11

Extent of unemployment

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

Numbers (in thousands)

Total who worked or looked for work .................................................................... 158,882 159,693 84,000 83,715 74,882 75,978

Percent with unemployment ............................................................................. 15.9 14.9 17.7 15.8 13.8 13.8

Total with unemployment .................................................................................. 25,241 23,739 14,880 13,262 10,360 10,477

Did not work but looked for work .................................................................. 6,562 6,214 3,659 3,212 2,903 3,002

1 to 14 weeks ........................................................................................... 1,351 1,395 634 656 717 739

15 weeks or more ..................................................................................... 5,211 4,819 3,025 2,556 2,186 2,263

Worked during the year ................................................................................ 18,679 17,525 11,221 10,050 7,458 7,476

Year-round workers 1 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment ...................... 591 417 379 271 211 147

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ................................................... 18,088 17,108 10,842 9,779 7,246 7,329

1 to 4 weeks ......................................................................................... 2,259 2,211 1,178 1,170 1,081 1,041

5 to 10 weeks ....................................................................................... 2,393 2,273 1,419 1,238 974 1,035

11 to 14 weeks ..................................................................................... 2,299 2,063 1,438 1,276 861 787

15 to 26 weeks ..................................................................................... 5,113 4,942 3,231 2,936 1,882 2,007

27 weeks or more ................................................................................. 6,024 5,619 3,577 3,159 2,447 2,459

 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ....................................... 19.9 19.8 20.1 19.9 19.5 19.8

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ................................................... 3,872 3,524 2,620 2,448 1,252 1,076

 2 spells ................................................................................................. 1,786 1,745 1,129 1,121 657 624

 3 spells or more .................................................................................... 2,086 1,779 1,491 1,327 595 451

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 ................................................................................................... 20.6 22.4 17.3 20.4 24.7 24.6

15 weeks or more ............................................................................................. 79.4 77.6 82.7 79.6 75.3 75.4

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 .............................. 3.2 2.4 3.4 2.7 2.8 2.0

Part-year workers 2 with unemployment ........................................................... 96.8 97.6 96.6 97.3 97.2 98.0

1 to 4 weeks ................................................................................................. 12.1 12.6 10.5 11.6 14.5 13.9

5 to 10 weeks ............................................................................................... 12.8 13.0 12.6 12.3 13.1 13.8

11 to 14 weeks ............................................................................................. 12.3 11.8 12.8 12.7 11.5 10.5

15 to 26 weeks ............................................................................................. 27.4 28.2 28.8 29.2 25.2 26.8

27 weeks or more ......................................................................................... 32.3 32.1 31.9 31.4 32.8 32.9

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ............................................... 20.7 20.1 23.3 24.4 16.8 14.4

 2 spells ............................................................................................. 9.6 10.0 10.1 11.2 8.8 8.4

 3 spells or more ................................................................................ 11.2 10.1 13.3 13.2 8.0 6.0

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, 2010-11

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

WHITE 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 129,249 127,809 69,593 68,304 59,656 59,505

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 15.0 13.7 16.8 14.7 12.8 12.5

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 19,329 17,479 11,687 10,026 7,643 7,453

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 4,598 4,092 2,609 2,124 1,989 1,968

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 14,732 13,387 9,078 7,902 5,654 5,485

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 19.2 18.8 19.6 19.0 18.5 18.4

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 3.4 2.6 3.6 3.0 3.1 2.1

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 96.6 97.4 96.4 97.0 96.9 97.9

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 12.0 13.6 10.2 12.3 14.9 15.5

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 26.3 25.7 26.6 25.8 25.7 25.5

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 58.3 58.1 59.6 58.9 56.3 56.9

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 21.5 20.4 23.7 24.5 17.9 14.6

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 18,263 18,822 8,466 8,685 9,797 10,137

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 22.5 22.2 25.9 24.5 19.5 20.3

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 4,105 4,180 2,192 2,124 1,913 2,056

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,395 1,491 758 753 637 737

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 2,710 2,689 1,434 1,371 1,276 1,319

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 22.9 23.9 22.3 23.6 23.6 24.1

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 .................. 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.8

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 98.2 98.3 98.0 98.3 98.4 98.2

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 11.7 8.9 11.4 8.8 12.2 9.1

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 19.9 20.6 20.0 21.2 19.8 19.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 66.5 68.7 66.6 68.2 66.4 69.2

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 17.2 17.7 20.7 22.8 13.2 12.4

ASIAN 

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 7,569 8,364 3,955 4,347 3,614 4,017

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 12.9 12.2 12.9 12.0 12.9 12.4

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 973 1,020 509 522 465 498

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 316 316 144 153 172 162

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 657 705 364 369 293 335

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 21.3 20.5 21.7 20.2 20.8 20.7

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

Year-round workers 2 with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment .................. 3.0 0.8 3.6 0.9 2.3 0.6

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.0 99.2 96.4 99.1 97.7 99.4

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 14.6 10.6 15.3 12.1 13.9 8.9

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 20.6 27.1 19.5 28.1 21.9 25.9

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 61.8 61.6 61.6 58.8 61.9 64.6

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 14.0 18.9 16.9 22.0 10.5 15.4

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and sex, 2010-11 — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total Men Women

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total who worked or looked for work ................................................................ 22,825 24,216 13,301 13,683 9,524 10,533

Percent with unemployment ......................................................................... 20.5 18.3 22.4 19.2 18.0 17.1

Total with unemployment .............................................................................. 4,686 4,427 2,974 2,630 1,712 1,798

Did not work but looked for work .............................................................. 1,138 1,093 638 556 500 536

Worked during the year ............................................................................ 3,548 3,335 2,336 2,073 1,212 1,261

Median weeks of unemployment for all workers ................................... 20.0 20.0 19.9 19.7 20.2 20.6

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 .................. 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.9 2.1 1.7

Part-year workers 3 with unemployment ............................................... 97.7 97.6 97.7 97.1 97.9 98.3

1 to 4 weeks ..................................................................................... 10.7 11.0 8.9 10.3 14.0 12.3

5 to 14 weeks ................................................................................... 26.5 24.8 27.8 25.2 24.1 24.1

15 weeks or more ............................................................................. 60.5 61.7 60.9 61.6 59.8 61.9

 With 2 spells or more of unemployment ....................................... 24.0 22.5 26.7 25.9 18.8 16.8

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.