Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:  (202) 606-6378  USDL 98-470

                                        For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                606-5902  Wednesday, November 25, 1998


                 WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 1997


   A total of 143.2 million persons worked at some time during 1997,
according to the annual survey of work experience released by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.  This was 1.8 million above the
level of the previous year.  The number who experienced some unemployment
declined by 1.2 million, to 15.6 million.
   
   Work experience data, which relate to labor force activity during an
entire calendar year, are collected each March from supplemental questions
asked as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS).  The CPS is a monthly
survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Additional information on the annual
survey, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical
Note beginning on page 3.  Highlights from the survey for 1997 are:
   
   --Seventy percent of the working-age population 16 years of age and
   older were engaged in some work activity during 1997, up slightly from
   1996.

   --The proportion of all employed persons who usually worked full time
   (35 hours or more a week) was 79.0 percent.  In addition, 73.8 percent of
   the employed worked year round (at least 50 weeks), compared with 72.8
   percent in 1996.  In 1997, 64.2 percent worked both year round and full
   time, compared with 63.3 percent in 1996.

   --The number of persons experiencing at least 1 week of unemployment was
   15.6 million in  1997, down from 16.8 million in the prior year.  About
   86.4 percent of those reporting some unemployment also were employed at
   some time during the year.

   --Unemployment declined for all major worker groups.

Persons with Employment

   In 1997, the proportion of the working-age population 16 years and over
who worked at some time during the year reached 70.0 percent.  The share of
persons with some work activity during the year has trended upward for over
three decades, except during recessionary periods.  In 1967, 67.2 percent
of the population age 16 years and older did some work during the year.
The long-term rise in work activity of the population is entirely

                                  - 2 -

attributable to the increasing likelihood of women working outside the
home.  Since 1967, the proportion of women who work during the year has
risen from 51.3 to 63.6 percent.  Conversely, the employment activity for
men has decreased from 85.1 to 76.9 percent over the same period.
   
   The percentage of employed persons with full-time employment activity
was 79.0 percent in 1997, virtually unchanged from 1996.  (See table 1.)
The shares of full- and part-time workers have changed little since the
early 1970s.  However, the extent of employment during the year continues
to move towards year-round, rather than part-year, work.  During 1997, 73.8
percent of persons with work experience were employed year round (either
full or part time), compared with 65.0 percent in 1967.  This rise primarily
reflects the increasing likelihood of employed women working year round.
Since 1967, the proportion of employed women working year round has climbed
by 18 percentage points, from 52.0 to 70.0 percent.  During the same
period, the proportion of employed men working year round rose only
slightly (from 73.9 to 77.3 percent).
   
Persons with Unemployment
   
   Of the 145.3 million persons who participated in the labor force in
1997, 15.6 million experienced some unemployment during the year, resulting
in a "work-experience unemployment rate" of 10.8 percent.  (See table 3.)
This was the lowest rate since the series began in 1958.  The percentage of
persons with unemployment during the year had been almost 16 percent during
the 1991 recession and the beginning of the recovery in 1992.  During 1997,
blacks continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment rates" than
Hispanics or whites (16.5 percent versus 14.1 and 9.9 percent,
respectively).
   
   Of the 13.5 million persons who worked during 1997 and also experienced
unemployment, about 3 out of 10 had two or more spells of joblessness.
Among all persons with unemployment, the median number of weeks spent
looking for work was 13.1, down by 0.7 week from 1996.  Whites had a
shorter duration of unemployment and a slightly lower proportion of workers
with multiple spells of unemployment than either blacks or Hispanics.  (See
table 4.)
   
   During 1997, 13.6 percent of persons who looked for work had no work
activity during the year.  Although this ratio has been declining recently,
it remains above the 1989 level (9.1 percent) just prior to the recession.

Technical Note
 
 
 The data presented in this release were collected in March supplements to
the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census 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.  Each March,
additional questions are asked about work activity during the prior
calendar year.  For instance, data collected in March 1998 refer to the
1997 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
1997 was about 2-1/3 times the number unemployed in an average month during
the year.
 
                                           Employed        Unemployed
 1997 estimates (in thousands)
    Annual average of monthly estimates    129,558            6,739
    March supplement data                  143,193           15,623
 
 In addition, estimates from the March 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 are asked in the supplement by which to categorize
respondents.  In particular, the March 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.
 
 Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone:  1-800-326-2577.

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.  Non-sampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct
information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
 
 For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of
Employment and Earnings.

Concepts and definitions
 
 Persons who worked.  In the March 1998 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 1997?" or "Did you do any
temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 1997?"
 
 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 1997, 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, 1996-97
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total              Men              Women      
                           Extent of employment                                                                            
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1996     1997     1996     1997     1996     1997  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                     Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Civilian noninstitutional population............................  202,515  204,551   97,388   98,410  105,127  106,141
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  143,708  145,323   76,035   76,704   67,673   68,619
         Percent of the population...................................     71.0     71.0     78.1     77.9     64.4     64.6
       Total who worked during the year(1)...........................  141,379  143,193   75,009   75,726   66,371   67,468
         Percent of the population...................................     69.8     70.0     77.0     76.9     63.1     63.6
                                                                                                                           
         Full time(2)................................................  111,512  113,128   64,625   65,423   46,887   47,705
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   89,491   91,909   53,101   54,268   36,390   37,640
           48 to 49 weeks............................................    2,381    2,227    1,387    1,269      994      958
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    5,798    5,615    3,041    2,919    2,756    2,697
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    4,804    4,644    2,449    2,436    2,355    2,208
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    5,091    5,015    2,641    2,596    2,451    2,419
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    3,946    3,718    2,005    1,935    1,941    1,782
                                                                                                                           
         Part time(3)................................................   29,868   30,066   10,384   10,303   19,484   19,763
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   13,379   13,795    4,318    4,236    9,061    9,560
           48 to 49 weeks............................................      851      805      232      285      619      520
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    2,774    2,710      899      933    1,876    1,777
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    3,017    3,046    1,004    1,052    2,012    1,994
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    4,680    4,561    1,861    1,617    2,819    2,944
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    5,167    5,148    2,071    2,180    3,097    2,968
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                      Percent distribution
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Total who worked during the year(1).............................   100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0 
                                                                                                                           
       Full time(2)..................................................    78.9     79.0     86.2     86.4     70.6     70.7 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................    63.3     64.2     70.8     71.7     54.8     55.8 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................     1.7      1.6      1.8      1.7      1.5      1.4 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................     4.1      3.9      4.1      3.9      4.2      4.0 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................     3.4      3.2      3.3      3.2      3.5      3.3 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................     3.6      3.5      3.5      3.4      3.7      3.6 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................     2.8      2.6      2.7      2.6      2.9      2.6 
                                                                                                                           
       Part time(3)..................................................    21.1     21.0     13.8     13.6     29.4     29.3 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................     9.5      9.6      5.8      5.6     13.7     14.2 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................      .6       .6       .3       .4       .9       .8 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................     2.0      1.9      1.2      1.2      2.8      2.6 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................     2.1      2.1      1.3      1.4      3.0      3.0 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................     3.3      3.2      2.5      2.1      4.2      4.4 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................     3.7      3.6      2.8      2.9      4.7      4.4 

       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.






     Table 2.  Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1996-97

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total              Men              Women      
              Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin                                                               
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1996     1997     1996     1997     1996     1997  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                  WHITE                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................  169,555  170,955   82,324   83,037   87,230   87,918
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................  121,113  121,772   65,152   65,366   55,962   56,406
           Percent of the population.................................     71.4     71.2     79.1     78.7     64.2     64.2
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................  119,579  120,454   64,484   64,753   55,094   55,701
           Percent of the population.................................     70.5     70.5     78.3     78.0     63.2     63.4
                                                                                                                           
         Percent who worked during the year(1).......................    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
           Full time(2)..............................................     78.3     78.6     86.3     86.6     69.0     69.4
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     63.3     64.1     71.5     72.1     53.7     54.8
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      9.1      8.8      9.1      8.8      9.2      8.7
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.9      5.8      5.7      5.7      6.2      5.9
           Part time(3)..............................................     21.7     21.4     13.7     13.4     31.0     30.6
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      9.8      9.9      5.8      5.5     14.6     15.0
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      4.9      4.8      2.9      3.1      7.3      6.8
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      6.9      6.7      5.0      4.8      9.1      8.8
                                                                                                                           
                                  BLACK                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   23,893   24,255   10,709   10,870   13,184   13,385
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   16,140   16,782    7,484    7,719    8,656    9,063
           Percent of the population.................................     67.6     69.2     69.9     71.0     65.7     67.7
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................   15,485   16,110    7,206    7,447    8,279    8,663
           Percent of the population.................................     64.8     66.4     67.3     68.5     62.8     64.7
                                                                                                                           
         Percent who worked during the year(1).......................    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
           Full time(2)..............................................     82.3     81.4     85.1     85.0     79.8     78.3
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     63.2     64.4     65.3     68.3     61.3     61.1
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      9.8      8.8     10.4      8.7      9.2      8.9
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      9.3      8.1      9.3      8.0      9.3      8.2
           Part time(3)..............................................     17.7     18.6     14.9     15.0     20.2     21.7
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      7.0      7.7      5.5      5.2      8.3      9.8
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.1      3.3      2.2      2.5      3.9      3.9
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      7.6      7.7      7.2      7.3      8.0      8.0
                                                                                                                           
                             HISPANIC ORIGIN                                                                               
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   20,114   20,854   10,257   10,626    9,857   10,229
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   13,973   14,586    8,256    8,567    5,717    6,019
           Percent of the population.................................     69.5     69.9     80.5     80.6     58.0     58.8
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................   13,600   14,232    8,084    8,397    5,516    5,836
           Percent of the population.................................     67.6     68.2     78.8     79.0     56.0     57.0
                                                                                                                           
         Percent who worked during the year(1).......................    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
           Full time(2)..............................................     81.4     82.0     87.0     88.1     73.2     73.2
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     62.1     63.8     67.9     70.7     53.5     53.8
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................     10.7      9.8     11.2      9.7     10.0     10.0
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      8.7      8.4      7.9      7.7      9.8      9.3
           Part time(3)..............................................     18.6     18.0     13.0     11.9     26.8     26.8
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      8.5      7.9      5.7      4.6     12.5     12.7
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.5      3.5      2.5      2.4      5.1      5.1
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      6.6      6.6      4.7      4.9      9.2      9.0

       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:  Detail for the above race and Hispanic  origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other
     races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Data refer
     to persons 16 years and over.






     Table 3.  Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1996-97
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total              Men              Women      
                           Extent of employment                                                                            
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1996     1997     1996     1997     1996     1997  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                     Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Total who worked or looked for work.............................  143,708  145,323   76,035   76,704   67,673   68,619
       Percent with unemployment.....................................     11.7     10.8     12.0     11.2     11.3     10.2
                                                                                                                           
       Total with unemployment.......................................   16,786   15,623    9,153    8,594    7,632    7,029
         Did not work but looked for work............................    2,329    2,129    1,026      978    1,303    1,151
           1 to 14 weeks.............................................    1,137      955      434      385      704      570
           15 weeks or more..........................................    1,191    1,174      592      593      599      582
         Worked during the year......................................   14,457   13,494    8,128    7,616    6,330    5,878
           Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment...      589      611      395      382      194      229
           Part-year workers(2) with unemployment....................   13,868   12,883    7,732    7,234    6,135    5,649
             1 to 4 weeks............................................    2,547    2,578    1,269    1,273    1,279    1,305
             5 to 10 weeks...........................................    2,671    2,594    1,478    1,469    1,192    1,125
             11 to 14 weeks..........................................    2,020    1,822    1,258    1,068      762      754
             15 to 26 weeks..........................................    3,662    3,377    2,076    1,949    1,586    1,429
             27 weeks or more........................................    2,968    2,512    1,651    1,476    1,317    1,036
                                                                                                                           
     Median weeks of unemployment for all workers....................     13.8     13.1     13.9     13.6     13.6     12.5
                                                                                                                           
     With 2 spells or more of unemployment...........................    4,237    4,041    2,555    2,436    1,682    1,605
       2 spells......................................................    1,982    1,851    1,109    1,078      872      773
       3 spells or more..............................................    2,255    2,190    1,445    1,358      810      832
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                      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.................................................    48.8     44.8     42.3     39.4     54.0     49.5 
       15 weeks or more..............................................    51.2     55.2     57.7     60.6     46.0     50.5 
     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.......     4.1      4.5      4.9      5.0      3.1      3.9 
       Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................    95.9     95.5     95.1     95.0     96.9     96.1 
         1 to 4 weeks................................................    17.6     19.1     15.6     16.7     20.2     22.2 
         5 to 10 weeks...............................................    18.5     19.2     18.2     19.3     18.8     19.1 
         11 to 14 weeks..............................................    14.0     13.5     15.5     14.0     12.0     12.8 
         15 to 26 weeks..............................................    25.3     25.0     25.5     25.6     25.1     24.3 
         27 weeks or more............................................    20.5     18.6     20.3     19.4     20.8     17.6 
                                                                                                                           
       With 2 spells or more of unemployment.........................    29.3     29.9     31.4     32.0     26.6     27.3 
         2 spells....................................................    13.7     13.7     13.7     14.2     13.8     13.1 
         3 spells or more............................................    15.6     16.2     17.8     17.8     12.8     14.2 

       1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
       2 Worked less than 50 weeks.
        NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and over.






     Table 4.  Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1996-97

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                Men                Women       
              Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin                                                                     
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         1996      1997      1996      1997      1996      1997  
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                  WHITE                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  121,113   121,772    65,152    65,366    55,962    56,406 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     10.8       9.9      11.2      10.5      10.3       9.3 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................   13,084    12,082     7,308     6,852     5,776     5,230 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................    1,534     1,319       667       614       867       705 
           Worked during the year....................................   11,550    10,764     6,641     6,238     4,909     4,526 
                                                                                                                                 
             Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............     13.1      12.4      13.3      13.0      12.8      11.4 
                                                                                                                                 
           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.      4.4       5.2       5.3       5.7       3.3       4.4 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     95.6      94.8      94.7      94.3      96.7      95.6 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     18.1      20.3      16.2      17.5      20.6      24.2 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     34.7      33.6      35.6      33.9      33.4      33.1 
               15 weeks or more......................................     42.8      41.0      42.9      42.9      42.7      38.3 
                                                                                                                                 
             With 2 spells or more of unemployment...................     29.2      29.6      31.5      32.4      26.0      25.9 
                                                                                                                                 
                                  BLACK                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   16,140    16,782     7,484     7,719     8,656     9,063 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     18.0      16.5      18.4      16.6      17.7      16.4 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,910     2,766     1,381     1,281     1,530     1,484 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      655       672       278       272       377       400 
           Worked during the year....................................    2,255     2,094     1,102     1,010     1,152     1,084 
                                                                                                                                 
             Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............     20.6      17.8      20.2      18.4      21.0      17.3 
                                                                                                                                 
           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.      2.6       2.1       3.3       1.6       2.0       2.6 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     97.4      97.9      96.7      98.4      98.0      97.4 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     14.5      12.3      12.7      11.6      16.3      13.0 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     21.4      28.9      23.0      29.5      19.9      28.3 
               15 weeks or more......................................     61.4      56.7      61.0      57.3      61.9      56.1 
                                                                                                                                 
             With 2 spells or more of unemployment...................     30.4      30.2      31.5      28.3      29.3      32.1 
                                                                                                                                 
                             HISPANIC ORIGIN                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   13,973    14,586     8,256     8,567     5,717     6,019 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     16.6      14.1      17.0      14.6      16.1      13.2 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,322     2,052     1,403     1,255       919       797 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      373       354       172       171       201       184 
           Worked during the year....................................    1,949     1,698     1,231     1,084       718       613 
                                                                                                                                 
             Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............     16.4      14.9      15.3      14.7      18.0      15.4 
                                                                                                                                 
           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.      3.6       3.9       4.2       4.5       2.5       2.9 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     96.4      96.1      95.8      95.5      97.5      97.1 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     15.3      15.6      14.3      14.3      17.1      18.0 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     28.1      30.8      30.9      32.3      23.3      28.1 
               15 weeks or more......................................     53.0      49.7      50.6      48.9      57.1      51.0 
                                                                                                                                 
             With 2 spells or more of unemployment...................     30.5      34.5      32.3      37.5      27.4      29.2 

       1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
       2 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
       3 Worked less than 50 weeks.
        NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic  origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
     group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Data refer to persons 16
     years and over.