Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:   (202) 691-6378   USDL 00-22

                                          For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                 691-5902   Monday, January 31, 2000

   
                 WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION IN 1998
   
   The total number of persons who worked at some point during the year
increased by about 1.6 million in 1998 to 144.8 million, according to the
annual survey of work experience released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the U.S. Department of Labor.  The number who experienced some unemployment
continued to decline--down almost 1.6 million from the previous year, to
14.0 million.
   
   These work experience data are from the March 1999 supplement 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.  The CPS provides information on the employment status of the
population; each March, supplementary questions are added that inquire
about work experience during the previous calendar year.  Additional
information about this annual supplement, including concepts and definitions,
is provided in the Technical Note on page 3.
   
   Highlights from the data for 1998 include:
   
   --The proportion of workers who were employed both year round and full
     time--65.6 percent--was the highest it had been in the nearly 50 years
     since the series began.
   
   --The proportion who experienced some unemployment during the year dropped
     to 9.6 percent (14.0 million) of those who either worked or looked for
     work at some time during the year; in 1997, this proportion was 10.8
     percent.
   
   --About 12.3 percent (1.7 million) of persons who looked for a job in
     1998 failed to find any work.  Although this proportion has been
     declining in recent years, it remains well above the rate just prior to
     the recession of the early 1990s (9.1 percent).
   
Persons with Employment
   
   In 1998, 70.0 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years
old and over worked at some time during the year, unchanged from 1997.  With
the exception of recessionary periods, this rate has trended upward over the
past three decades, with the increase entirely attributable to the changing
role of women in the work force over this period.  The proportion of women who
worked at some time during the year has risen 11.7 percentage points since
1968 to 63.7 percent in 1998; in contrast, the rate for men has declined
8.6 percentage points to 76.7 percent.  A greater share of whites
(70.5 percent) worked in 1998 than either blacks (66.5 percent) or Hispanics
(68.2 percent).  (See tables 1 and 2.)
   
   During 1998, 75.0 percent of persons with work experience were employed
year round (either full or part time), compared with 64.3 percent in 1968.
Once again, this primarily reflects the changing role of women in the labor
market.  Since 1968, the proportion of employed women working year round
has climbed by nearly 20 percentage points to 70.1 percent.  The rate for
men has increased by only 5.8 percentage points over the same period; a
large part of this increase (2.1 percentage points) in year-round work
occurred in 1998.

                                  - 2 -

Persons with Unemployment

   Of the 146.6 million persons who worked or looked for work at some time
in 1998, 14.0 million experienced some unemployment during the year,
resulting in a "work-experience unemployment rate" of 9.6 percent.  This
rate declined 1.2 percentage points from 1997.  (See table 3.)
   
   The "work-experience unemployment rate" for blacks, 14.5 percent, was
higher than the rates for either Hispanics (12.7 percent) or whites
(8.9 percent).  In 1998, the difference between the rates for men
(9.5 percent) and women (9.7 percent) was negligible.  Rates decreased for
most of the various worker groups over the year.
   
   The median number of weeks spent looking for work in 1998 was 12.7, down
slightly from 1997.  Of the 12.3 million persons who worked during 1998 and
also experienced unemployment, 29.5 percent had two or more spells of
joblessness.  The median number of weeks of unemployment was higher for
blacks than either whites or Hispanics.  Blacks also were more likely to
experience multiple spells of unemployment during the year.  (See table 4.)
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 1999 refer to the
1998 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
1998 was about 2-1/4 times the number unemployed in an average month during
the year.
 
                                           Employed        Unemployed
 1998 estimates (in thousands)
    Annual average of monthly estimates    131,463            6,210
    March supplement data                  144,841           14,042
 
 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.

 Work experience data for 1998, collected in March 1999, are not strictly
comparable with those for 1997 and earlier years because of minor adjustments
made to the population controls in January 1999.  The effect of these
adjustments on work experience estimates is unknown.  However, the effect of
the change on the monthly CPS estimates was to decrease January 1999 employ-
ment levels for men by about 200,000 relative to December 1998 levels while
increasing the employment levels for women by 260,000.  The effect on monthly
unemployment estimates was negligible.  For additional information, see
"Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 1999" in the
February 1999 issue of Employment and Earnings.

 Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-606-5886; TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates
 
 Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error.  When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed,
there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent.  The exact difference, or sampling error,
varies 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 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 1999 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 1998?" or "Did you do any
temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 1998?"
 
 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 1998, 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, 1997-98
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total               Men              Women      
                           Extent of employment                                                                            
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1997     1998      1997     1998     1997     1998  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                     Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
     Civilian noninstitutional population............................  204,551  207,038   98,410   99,364  106,141  107,674
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  145,323  146,570   76,704   77,047   68,619   69,523
         Percent of the population...................................     71.0     70.8     77.9     77.5     64.6     64.6
       Total who worked during the year(1)...........................  143,193  144,841   75,726   76,260   67,468   68,581
         Percent of the population...................................     70.0     70.0     76.9     76.7     63.6     63.7
                                                                                                                           
         Full time(2)................................................  113,128  115,697   65,423   66,603   47,705   49,094
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   91,909   95,077   54,268   56,322   37,640   38,755
           48 to 49 weeks............................................    2,227    2,095    1,269    1,177      958      918
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    5,615    5,502    2,919    2,827    2,697    2,675
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    4,644    4,545    2,436    2,190    2,208    2,355
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    5,015    4,870    2,596    2,355    2,419    2,515
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    3,718    3,608    1,935    1,731    1,782    1,877
                                                                                                                           
         Part time(3)................................................   30,066   29,144   10,303    9,658   19,763   19,486
           50 to 52 weeks............................................   13,795   13,535    4,236    4,193    9,560    9,341
           48 to 49 weeks............................................      805      804      285      277      520      528
           40 to 47 weeks............................................    2,710    2,679      933      894    1,777    1,785
           27 to 39 weeks............................................    3,046    2,994    1,052      916    1,994    2,078
           14 to 26 weeks............................................    4,561    4,440    1,617    1,529    2,944    2,910
           1 to 13 weeks.............................................    5,148    4,693    2,180    1,848    2,968    2,845
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                      Percent distribution
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
     Total who worked during the year(1).............................   100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0 
                                                                                                                           
       Full time(2)..................................................    79.0     79.9     86.4     87.3     70.7     71.6 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................    64.2     65.6     71.7     73.9     55.8     56.5 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................     1.6      1.4      1.7      1.5      1.4      1.3 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................     3.9      3.8      3.9      3.7      4.0      3.9 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................     3.2      3.1      3.2      2.9      3.3      3.4 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................     3.5      3.4      3.4      3.1      3.6      3.7 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................     2.6      2.5      2.6      2.3      2.6      2.7 
                                                                                                                           
       Part time(3)..................................................    21.0     20.1     13.6     12.7     29.3     28.4 
         50 to 52 weeks..............................................     9.6      9.3      5.6      5.5     14.2     13.6 
         48 to 49 weeks..............................................      .6       .6       .4       .4       .8       .8 
         40 to 47 weeks..............................................     1.9      1.8      1.2      1.2      2.6      2.6 
         27 to 39 weeks..............................................     2.1      2.1      1.4      1.2      3.0      3.0 
         14 to 26 weeks..............................................     3.2      3.1      2.1      2.0      4.4      4.2 
         1 to 13 weeks...............................................     3.6      3.2      2.9      2.4      4.4      4.1 

       1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
       2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week.
       3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week.
       NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and over.  Data for 1998, which were collected in the March 1999 supplement
     to the Current Population Survey (CPS), are not strictly comparable with data for 1997 and earlier years because of
     the introduction in January 1999 of revised population controls used in the survey.  For additional information, see
     the technical note and "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 1999" in the February 1999 issue
     of Employment and Earnings. 

     Table 2.  Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1997-98

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total               Men              Women      
              Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin                                                               
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1997     1998      1997     1998     1997     1998  
                                                                                                                           
                                  WHITE                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................  170,955  172,544   83,037   83,621   87,918   88,923
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................  121,772  122,791   65,366   65,684   56,406   57,107
           Percent of the population.................................     71.2     71.2     78.7     78.5     64.2     64.2
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................  120,454  121,627   64,753   65,113   55,701   56,514
           Percent of the population.................................     70.5     70.5     78.0     77.9     63.4     63.6
                                                                                                                           
         Percent who worked during the year(1).......................    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
           Full time(2)..............................................     78.6     79.6     86.6     87.6     69.4     70.4
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     64.1     65.7     72.1     74.3     54.8     55.7
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      8.8      8.4      8.8      8.2      8.7      8.7
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      5.8      5.5      5.7      5.1      5.9      6.1
           Part time(3)..............................................     21.4     20.4     13.4     12.4     30.6     29.6
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      9.9      9.6      5.5      5.5     15.0     14.4
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      4.8      4.6      3.1      2.8      6.8      6.7
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      6.7      6.2      4.8      4.2      8.8      8.5
                                                                                                                           
                                  BLACK                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   24,255   24,726   10,870   11,080   13,385   13,645
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   16,782   16,902    7,719    7,739    9,063    9,163
           Percent of the population.................................     69.2     68.4     71.0     69.8     67.7     67.2
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................   16,110   16,436    7,447    7,572    8,663    8,864
           Percent of the population.................................     66.4     66.5     68.5     68.3     64.7     65.0
                                                                                                                           
         Percent who worked during the year(1).......................    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0    100.0
           Full time(2)..............................................     81.4     81.4     85.0     85.8     78.3     77.7
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     64.4     65.4     68.3     70.2     61.1     61.4
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      8.8      8.2      8.7      8.3      8.9      8.2
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      8.1      7.7      8.0      7.3      8.2      8.1
           Part time(3)..............................................     18.6     18.6     15.0     14.2     21.7     22.3
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      7.7      7.4      5.2      5.2      9.8      9.3
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.3      4.3      2.5      3.0      3.9      5.3
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      7.7      6.9      7.3      6.0      8.0      7.7
                                                                                                                           
                             HISPANIC ORIGIN                                                                               
                                                                                                                           
       Civilian noninstitutional population..........................   20,854   21,411   10,626   10,599   10,229   10,811
         Total who worked or looked for work.........................   14,586   14,886    8,567    8,503    6,019    6,383
           Percent of the population.................................     69.9     69.5     80.6     80.2     58.8     59.0
         Total who worked during the year(1).........................   14,232   14,599    8,397    8,381    5,836    6,218
           Percent of the population.................................     68.2     68.2     79.0     79.1     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)..............................................     82.0     83.5     88.1     89.5     73.2     75.3
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................     63.8     65.7     70.7     72.9     53.8     55.9
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      9.8     10.3      9.7     10.9     10.0      9.4
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      8.4      7.5      7.7      5.7      9.3     10.0
           Part time(3)..............................................     18.0     16.5     11.9     10.5     26.8     24.7
             50 to 52 weeks..........................................      7.9      7.7      4.6      4.6     12.7     11.9
             27 to 49 weeks..........................................      3.5      3.0      2.4      2.0      5.1      4.3
             1 to 26 weeks...........................................      6.6      5.9      4.9      3.9      9.0      8.5

       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.  Also, see Note, table 1.
                                                                                                                      
     Table 3.  Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1997-98
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                            Total               Men              Women      
                           Extent of unemployment                                                                          
                                                                                                                           
                                                                        1997     1998      1997     1998     1997     1998  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                     Numbers (in thousands)
                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
     Total who worked or looked for work.............................  145,323  146,570   76,704   77,047   68,619   69,523
       Percent with unemployment.....................................     10.8      9.6     11.2      9.5     10.2      9.7
                                                                                                                           
       Total with unemployment.......................................   15,623   14,042    8,594    7,282    7,029    6,760
         Did not work but looked for work............................    2,129    1,729      978      787    1,151      942
           1 to 14 weeks.............................................      955      762      385      299      570      463
           15 weeks or more..........................................    1,174      967      593      487      582      479
         Worked during the year......................................   13,494   12,313    7,616    6,496    5,878    5,817
           Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment...      611      630      382      386      229      243
           Part-year workers(2) with unemployment....................   12,883   11,683    7,234    6,109    5,649    5,574
             1 to 4 weeks............................................    2,578    2,320    1,273    1,083    1,305    1,237
             5 to 10 weeks...........................................    2,594    2,495    1,469    1,363    1,125    1,131
             11 to 14 weeks..........................................    1,822    1,701    1,068      980      754      721
             15 to 26 weeks..........................................    3,377    3,019    1,949    1,585    1,429    1,434
             27 weeks or more........................................    2,512    2,148    1,476    1,098    1,036    1,050
                                                                                                                           
           Median weeks of unemployment for all workers..............     13.1     12.7     13.6     12.7     12.5     12.6
                                                                                                                           
           With 2 spells or more of unemployment.....................    4,041    3,629    2,436    2,014    1,605    1,615
             2 spells................................................    1,851    1,650    1,078      880      773      770
             3 spells or more........................................    2,190    1,978    1,358    1,134      832      844
                                                                                                                           
                                                                      
                                                                                      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.................................................    44.8     44.1     39.4     38.0     49.5     49.1 
       15 weeks or more..............................................    55.2     55.9     60.6     62.0     50.5     50.9 
     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.......     4.5      5.1      5.0      5.9      3.9      4.2 
       Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................    95.5     94.9     95.0     94.1     96.1     95.8 
         1 to 4 weeks................................................    19.1     18.8     16.7     16.7     22.2     21.3 
         5 to 10 weeks...............................................    19.2     20.3     19.3     21.0     19.1     19.4 
         11 to 14 weeks..............................................    13.5     13.8     14.0     15.1     12.8     12.4 
         15 to 26 weeks..............................................    25.0     24.5     25.6     24.4     24.3     24.7 
         27 weeks or more............................................    18.6     17.4     19.4     16.9     17.6     18.0 
                                                                                                                           
       With 2 spells or more of unemployment.........................    29.9     29.5     32.0     31.0     27.3     27.8 
         2 spells....................................................    13.7     13.4     14.2     13.5     13.1     13.2 
         3 spells or more............................................    16.2     16.1     17.8     17.5     14.2     14.5 

       1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
       2 Worked less than 50 weeks.
       NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and over.  Also, see Note, table 1.
     Table 4.  Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1997-98

     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                             Total                 Men                Women       
              Extent of unemployment, race, and Hispanc origin                                                                   
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                         1997      1998       1997      1998      1997      1998  
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                  WHITE                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................  121,772   122,791    65,366    65,684    56,406    57,107 
         Percent with unemployment...................................      9.9       8.9      10.5       8.9       9.3       8.9 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................   12,082    10,900     6,852     5,835     5,230     5,066 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................    1,319     1,163       614       571       705       593 
           Worked during the year....................................   10,764     9,737     6,238     5,264     4,526     4,473 
                                                                                                                                 
                    Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.....     12.4      12.1      13.0      12.0      11.4      12.2 
                                                                                                                                 
           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.      5.2       5.5       5.7       6.6       4.4       4.3 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     94.8      94.5      94.3      93.4      95.6      95.7 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     20.3      19.6      17.5      17.4      24.2      22.3 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     33.6      34.9      33.9      36.9      33.1      32.4 
               15 weeks or more......................................     41.0      40.0      42.9      39.1      38.3      41.0 
                                                                                                                                 
                   With 2 spells or more of unemployment.............     29.6      28.5      32.4      30.5      25.9      26.2 
                                                                                                                                 
                                  BLACK                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   16,782    16,902     7,719     7,739     9,063     9,163 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     16.5      14.5      16.6      14.2      16.4      14.8 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,766     2,452     1,281     1,099     1,484     1,353 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      672       465       272       166       400       299 
           Worked during the year....................................    2,094     1,987     1,010       933     1,084     1,054 
                                                                                                                                 
                    Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.....     17.8      15.5      18.4      15.6      17.3      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.      2.1       3.5       1.6       2.4       2.6       4.5 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     97.9      96.5      98.4      97.6      97.4      95.5 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     12.3      14.6      11.6      12.5      13.0      16.4 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     28.9      31.0      29.5      34.1      28.3      28.3 
               15 weeks or more......................................     56.7      50.9      57.3      51.0      56.1      50.8 
                                                                                                                                 
                   With 2 spells or more of unemployment.............     30.2      33.8      28.3      35.1      32.1      32.6 
                                                                                                                                 
                             HISPANIC ORIGIN                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                 
       Total who worked or looked for work...........................   14,586    14,886     8,567     8,503     6,019     6,383 
         Percent with unemployment...................................     14.1      12.7      14.6      12.2      13.2      13.5 
                                                                                                                                 
         Total with unemployment.....................................    2,052     1,896     1,255     1,037       797       859 
           Did not work but looked for work..........................      354       287       171       122       184       165 
           Worked during the year....................................    1,698     1,609     1,084       915       613       694 
                                                                                                                                 
                    Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.....     14.9      14.2      14.7      13.5      15.4      15.5 
                                                                                                                                 
           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.      3.9       4.3       4.5       4.9       2.9       3.6 
             Part-year workers(3) with unemployment..................     96.1      95.7      95.5      95.1      97.1      96.4 
               1 to 4 weeks..........................................     15.6      16.5      14.3      16.1      18.0      17.1 
               5 to 14 weeks.........................................     30.8      31.5      32.3      33.9      28.1      28.4 
               15 weeks or more......................................     49.7      47.7      48.9      45.2      51.0      51.0 
                                                                                                                                 
                   With 2 spells or more of unemployment.............     34.5      29.2      37.5      30.9      29.2      26.9 

       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.  Also, see Note, table 1.