Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 

U.S. Labor Market, 2008

U.S. labor market in 2008: 

economy in recession

CPS data show that the labor market weakness that began

during the second half of 2007 worsened during 2008 as the U.S. economy

entered a recession; unemployment rose sharply, both employment

and the employment-population ratio declined, and median

weekly earnings grew at about the same rate as inflation in 2008

James Marschall Borbely Turmoil in the housing, credit, and 

financial markets plagued the 

U.S. economy in 2008, and the 

National Bureau of Economic Research 

(NBER) identified December 2007 as the 

beginning of a recession.1 The labor market started to slide during the second half 

of 2007 and continued sliding throughout 

2008. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the 

unemployment rate rose to 6.9 percent 

and the unemployment level reached 10.6 

million, an increase of 2.1 percentage 

points and 3.3 million persons, respectively, over the fourth quarter of 2007. The 

current recession has hit the labor market 

particularly hard. The increase in the unemployment rate in 2008 was larger than 

that experienced during the 2001 recession and was the largest fourth-quarterto-fourth-quarter increase since 1982. 

(See chart 1.) 

The number of employed persons aged 

16 years and older, as measured by the 

Current Population Survey (CPS), was 

144.0 million in the fourth quarter of 

2008, 2.2 million lower than a year earlier.2

This over-the-year decrease more than offset the 654,000 increase in 2007. The last 

time employment declined over the year 

was in 2001, also a recessionary period. 

(For a comparison of the employment measures 

available from the household and establishment 

surveys, see the box on page 5.) Reflecting the 

employment decline in 2008, the employmentpopulation ratio also fell during the year, from 

62.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 to a 

fourth-quarter 2008 figure of 61.3 percent, the 

lowest ratio since the first quarter of 1987, when 

it was 61.1 percent. (Chart 2 shows the employment-population ratio from 1998 to 2008.) The 

1.5-percentage-point over-the-year decline was 

the largest fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter decline in the history of the series, which dates back 

to 1948.

While unemployment increased and employment contracted in 2008, the labor force participation rate was essentially unchanged, indicating 

that much of the downturn in the labor market 

resulted from individuals losing jobs.

In 2008, individuals in the prime working age 

group (25 to 54 years) experienced sharp increases 

in unemployment; men in the age group experienced greater increases in unemployment, and 

larger declines in employment, than did women. 

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the unemployment rate for persons of prime working age 

(25 to 54 years) was 5.9 percent, the highest 

rate since the second quarter of 1993 and up 

from 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. 

James Marschall Borbely 

is an economist 

in the Division of Labor 

Force Statistics, Bureau 

of Labor Statistics. 

E-mail: borbely.james@bls.gov
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

 Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

The number of unemployed persons aged 25 to 54 years, 

6.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, increased by 2.1 

million over the year. The unemployment rate for primeworking-age men rose by 2.4 percentage points, to 6.2 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2008, while the unemployment rate for women aged 25 to 54 years increased from 

4.0 percent to 5.5 percent that same quarter. 

During 2008, the overall employment level for individuals aged 25 to 54 years fell by 2.2 million, to 98.3 million, in the fourth quarter. The significant increase in the 

number of unemployed men in this age group coincided 

with a large decrease in the number of such employed 

men and a decline in their employment-population ratio. Employment among men in the 25-to-54-year-old 

age group decreased by 1.6 million, accounting for about 

three-quarters of the decline in employment of primeworking-age individuals in 2008, and the men’s employment-population ratio fell by 2.6 percentage points, to 

84.6 percent. By comparison, the number of employed 

prime-working-age women was down by 528,000 in the 

fourth quarter of 2008, and their employment-population 

ratio fell by 0.7 percentage point, to 71.7 percent. (See 

table 1.) One reason men made up the majority of the 

employment decline in 2008 is that employment in historically male-dominated occupations, such as construction and extraction, fell sharply over the year.

In 2008, young workers were affected by poor labor market conditions more than workers aged 55 years and older were. In 

general, age helps explain variations in the labor market 

success of individuals, because, as older workers gain more 

experience and accumulate more skills, their marketability 

rises, resulting in longer job tenure and, ultimately, lower 

unemployment rates than those of young workers. In 2008, 

labor force participation and employment continued to 

trend upward for workers aged 55 years and older, but labor market conditions weakened for workers aged 16 to 19 

years, as the group’s unemployment rose sharply and labor 

force participation and employment declined. 

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the labor force participation rate for teenagers 16 to 19 years was 38.7 percent, 2.4 

percentage points lower than a year earlier. This group’s 

rate has been on a downward trend since its most recent 

high of 52.6 percent in the second quarter of 2000 and 

is currently the lowest rate in the history of the series, 

which began in 1948. Teenagers may be participating in 

the labor force at a lower rate in recent years for a number 

of reasons; for example, they may be facing greater pressure to do well in school, and they are attending college at 

higher rates.3 By contrast, the participation rate for adults 

 Chart 1. Unemployment rate for persons 16 years and older, seasonally adjusted, quarterly averages, 

1969–2008

12.0

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.

2.0

0.0

12.0

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.

2.0

0.0

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet determined 

an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Percent

1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 

Percent
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

aged 55 years and older continued to trend upward in 

2008, increasing by 1.0 percentage point, to 39.8 percent. 

The participation rate for older adults has been climbing since the second quarter of 1995. Several factors may 

have contributed to this rise, including a gradual increase 

in the usual retirement age for receiving Social Security 

benefits, a decline in the number of individuals covered 

by defined-benefit plans, and the decreased availability of 

employer-provided retiree health benefits.4

The jobless rate among teenagers (16 to 19 years) was 

20.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, 4.4 percentage 

points higher than a year earlier and the highest rate since 

the second quarter of 1992. The unemployment rate for 

young adults (20 to 24 years) also rose during 2008, increasing by 2.7 percentage points, to 11.3 percent. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 55 years and older 

Differences between employment estimates 

from the establishment and household surveys

The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces two monthly 

employment series that are independently obtained: 

the estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the 

Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, also 

called the establishment or payroll survey; and the 

estimate of total civilian employment, based on the 

Current Population Survey (CPS), also called the 

household survey. The two surveys use different definitions of employment, as well as different survey and 

estimation methodologies. The CES survey is a survey 

of employers that provides a measure of the number of 

payroll jobs in nonfarm industries. The CPS is a survey 

of households that provides a measure of employed 

persons aged 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population. Employment estimates from 

the CPS give information about workers in both the 

agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and in any type 

of work arrangement: wage and salary jobs (including 

employment in a private household), self-employment, 

and unpaid work of at least 15 hours a week in a business or farm operated by a family member. CES payroll 

employment estimates are restricted to nonagricultural 

wage and salary jobs and exclude private household 

workers. As a result, employment estimates from the 

CPS are higher than those from the CES survey. In 

the CPS, however, employed persons are counted only 

once, regardless of whether they hold more than one 

job during the survey reference period. By contrast, because the CES survey counts the number of jobs rather 

than persons, multiple jobholders are counted once for 

each nonfarm job they hold.

The reference periods for the surveys also differ. In 

the CPS, the reference period is the calendar week that 

includes the 12th day of the month. In the CES survey, 

employers report the number of workers on their payrolls for the pay period that includes the 12th of the 

month. Because pay periods vary in length among employers and may be longer than 1 week, the CES employment estimates can reflect a longer reference period.

For purposes of comparison, however, some adjustments can be made to CPS employment estimates to 

make them more similar in definitional scope to CES

employment figures. The BLS routinely carries out these 

adjustments to evaluate how the two employment 

series are tracking. The long-term trends in the two 

surveys’ employment measures are quite comparable. 

Nonetheless, throughout the history of the surveys, 

there have been periods when the short-term trends 

diverged or when growth in one series significantly 

outpaced growth in the other. For example, following 

the end of the 2001 recession, CPS employment began 

to trend upward while CES employment continued to 

decline for a number of months.

The BLS publishes a monthly report with the latest trends and comparisons of CES and CPS employment. (See “Employment from the BLS household and 

payroll surveys: summary of recent trends” (Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, Feb. 6, 2009), on the Internet at www.

bls.gov/web/ces_cps_trends.pdf.) This report includes 

a summary of possible causes of differences in the surveys’ employment trends, as well as links to additional 

research on the topic.
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

  Monthly Labor Review • Marc  20

increased by 1.7 percentage points, to 4.8 percent, in the 

fourth quarter of 2008.

Employment among teens dropped again in 2008, falling by 606,000, after declining by 322,000 in 2007. The teen 

employment-population ratio continued to trend downward and stood at 30.7 percent in the fourth quarter, 3.7 

percentage points lower than a year earlier. Young adults’ 

(20 to 24 years) employment also declined in 2008, falling 

by 404,000, and their employment-population ratio fell by 

2.0 percentage points, to 65.7 percent. In contrast, employment among workers aged 55 years and older increased by 

937,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008. The employmentpopulation ratio for older workers rose to 37.9 percent from 

the 37.6-percent rate posted a year earlier. (See table 1.)

The major racial and ethnic groups were also adversely affected 

by weakness in the labor market. In 2008, unemployment 

rates were higher over the year for the major racial and 

ethnic groups. The percentage-point increase was greatest 

for Blacks and Hispanics, whose unemployment rates rose 

by 2.9 and 3.1 percentage points, to 11.5 percent and 8.9 

percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter. The unemployment rate for Whites increased by 2.1 percentage points 

over the year, to 6.3 percent. The unemployment rate for 

Asians, 4.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted), was 0.9 percentage point higher than a year earlier. 

In 2008, employment among the major racial and ethnic 

groups was lower than a year earlier. In the fourth quarter, 

the number of employed Whites was 118.1 million, 1.9 million lower than in the fourth quarter of 2007. The employment decline in 2008 followed a year of slowing employment growth. In 2007, employment among Whites grew 

by only 349,000, after increasing by 2.1 million in 2006. 

During 2008, employment among Hispanics or Latinos 

fell by 389,000, to 20.2 million, in contrast to an increase 

of 583,000 in 2007 and nearly 1.0 million in 2006. After 

experiencing virtually no employment growth in 2007 and 

a gain of about a half million in 2006, employment among 

Blacks fell by 294,000 in 2008, to 15.7 million. Employment among Asians stood at 6.8 million (not seasonally adjusted) in the fourth quarter of 2008, practically unchanged 

from the 6.9 million figure posted a year earlier.

Reflecting the declines in employment among the racial and ethnic groups, the employment-population ratios 

 Chart 2. Labor force participation rate and employment-population ratio, seasonally adjusted, quarterly 

averages, 1998–2008

Percent

70.0

68.0

66.0

64.

62.0

60.0

70.0

68.0

66.0

64.

62.0

60.0

Percent

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet determined 

an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Labor force participation rate

Employment-population ratio
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by age and selected 

characteristics, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2007–08

 [In thousands]	 	

 2008 

 

 Total, 16 years and older 

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 153,625 153,738 154,281 154,650 154,6

 Participation rate.................................................................... 66.0 66.0 66.1 66.1 65.9 –.1

 Employed ...................................................................................... 146,276 146,138 145,989 145,299 144,0

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 62.8 62.8 62.5 62.1 61.3 –1

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 7,349 7,599 8,291 9,350 10,602

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 4.8  4.9 5.4 6.0 6

 Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 7,012 6,867 7,049 6,880 6,629 –

 Participation rate.................................................................... 41.1  40.3 41.3 

 Employed ...................................................................................... 5,866 5,720 5,801 5,524 5,260 –6

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 34.4 33.6 34.

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 1,146 1,147 1,249 1,356 1,3

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 16.3 16.7 17.7 19.7 20.

 Both sexes, 20 to 24 years

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 15,158 15,056 15,213 15,278 15,16

 Participation rate.................................................................... 74.1 74.0 74.6 74.8 74

 Employed ...................................................................................... 13,852 13,695 13,718 13,657 13

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 67.7 67.3 67.3 66.8 65.7 

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 1,306 1,361 1,494 1,621 1

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 8.6 9.0 9.8 10.6 11.3 2

 Both sexes, 25 to 54 years

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 104,503 104,265 104,430 104,603

 Participation rate.................................................................... 83.0 83.1 83.2 83.2 83

 Employed ...................................................................................... 100,453 100,070 99,814 99,314 98,27

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 79.7 79.8 79.5 79.0 78.1 –1.6

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 4,050 4,195 4,616 5,288 6,13

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 3.9  4.0 4.4 5.1

 Men, 25 to 54 years

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 56,451 56,219 56,156 56,402 56,147

 Participation rate.................................................................... 90.7 90.7 90.6 90.8 90.2 –.5

 Employed ...................................................................................... 54,302 53,959 53,634 53,370 5

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 87.2 87.1 86.5 85.9 84.6 –2.

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 2,149 2,260 2,523 3,032

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 3.8  4.0 4.5 5.

 Women, 25 to 54 years

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 48,052 48,046 48,274 48,20

 Participation rate.................................................................... 75.4 75.7 76.0 75.8 75.8

 Employed ...................................................................................... 46,151 46,111 46,181 45,94

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 72.4 72.6 72.7 72.2 71.7 –

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 1,901 1,935 2,093 2,256 2,63

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 4.0  4.0 4.3 4.

 Both sexes, 55 years and older

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 26,948 27,452 27,563 28,021 28,408

 Participation rate.................................................................... 38.8  39.2 39.2 39.

 Employed ...................................................................................... 26,121 26,553 26,662 26,891 27,058 

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 37.6  37.9 37.9 3

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 826 899 901 1,130 1,350 

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 3.1  3.3 3.3 

Change,

 quarter IV ,

 2007, to 

 quarter IV, 

 2008

Table 1.

See notes at end of table.

Quarter IV,

 2007 Characteristic

Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

  Monthly Labor Review • Marc  20

for these groups fell sharply during 2008. The Hispanic 

or Latino employment-population ratio declined by 2.7 

percentage points, to 61.9 percent, in the fourth quarter 

of 2008. The ratio for Blacks fell by 1.8 percentage points, 

to 56.1 percent, and the ratio for Whites declined by 1.4 

percentage points, to 62.1 percent. The employment-population ratio for Asians was 63.2 percent (not seasonally 

adjusted) in the fourth quarter of 2008, 1.1 percentage 

points lower than a year earlier. (See table 1.)

During 2008, labor force participation for the major 

racial and ethnic groups remained relatively flat or edged 

lower. The participation rates for both Blacks and Whites 

were about unchanged, at 63.4 percent and 66.2 percent, 

respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2008. The rate for 

Hispanics or Latinos fell by 0.6 percentage point, to 68.0 

percent. The labor force participation rate for Asians was 

66.2 percent (not seasonally adjusted).

Individuals at each level of educational attainment were affected by the weak labor market in 2008, but those with less 

education experienced greater percentage-point increases in 

their unemployment rates. Education is a major determinant of success and activity in the labor market. Individuals with more education tend to have lower unemployment rates. Indeed, in 2008, individuals with less 

education experienced greater percentage-point increases 

 White

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 125,292 125,206 125,556 125,937 125,987 69

 Participation rate.................................................................... 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.4 

 Employed ...................................................................................... 119,977 119,692 119,557 119,160 118,101 –1,876

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 63.5 63.4 63.2 62.8 62.

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 5,315 5,514 5,999 6,777 7,885 2,

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 4.2  4.4 4.8 

 Black or African-American

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 17,513 17,683 17,733 17,809 1

 Participation rate.................................................................... 63.3 63.9 63.8 63.

 Employed ...................................................................................... 16,007 16,116 16,083 15,908 15,713

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 57.9 58.2 57.9 57.0 56.1 –1.8

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 1,506 1,566 1,650 1,901 2,044

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 8.6 8.9 9.3 10.7 11.5 2

 Asian1

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 7,172 7,170 7,202 7,269 7,166 –6

 Participation rate.................................................................... 66.7 67.2 67.4 67.2 66.2 –

 Employed ...................................................................................... 6,908 6,935 6,923 6,971 6,839

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 64.3 65.0 64.8 64.4 6

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 264 235 279 298 3

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 3.7  3.3 3.9  

 Hispanic or Latino

Civilian labor force .......................................................................... 21,829 21,761 22,049 22,174 22,

 Participation rate.................................................................... 68.6 68.6 68.9 68.7 68.0 –.6

 Employed ...................................................................................... 20,554 20,333 20,450 20,436 2

 Employment-population ratio........................................... 64.6 64.1 63.9 63.3 61.

 Unemployed ................................................................................ 1,274 1,428 1,599 1,738 1,96

 Unemployment rate.............................................................. 5.8 6.6 7.3 7.8 8.9

Continued—Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by age

and selected characteristics, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2007–08

Change,

quarter IV, 

 2007, to

 quarter IV ,

 2008

 Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV

Quarter IV,

Table 1.

 2007 Characteristic

[In thousands]

1 Data for Asians are not seasonally adjusted. 

NOTE: Beginning in 2007, data reflect revised population controls.

Estimates for race and Hispanic ethnicity do not sum to totals because 

data are not presented for all races and because persons of Hispanic 

ethnicity may be of any race and also are included in the racial groups.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

 

 2008
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

in their unemployment rates than their more educated 

counterparts did. The unemployment rate for individuals 

25 years and older with less than a high school diploma 

increased from 7.5 percent to 10.6 percent in the fourth 

quarter of 2008. The jobless rate for high school graduates 

with no college rose by 2.4 percentage points, to 7.0 percent, the highest quarterly rate since the series began in 

1992. The unemployment rate for those with some college 

or an associate’s degree increased by 2.0 percentage points, 

to 5.5 percent. Among college graduates, the unemployment rate increased by 1.2 percentage points, to 3.3 percent, equal to the previous peak in the fourth quarter of 

1992. (See chart 3.)

In 2008, the employment-population ratio decreased 

for all levels of educational attainment. The ratio for individuals with less than a high school diploma fell by 

1.0 percentage point, to 42.3 percent. For high school 

graduates with no college, the ratio fell by 1.6 percentage 

points, to 58.1 percent. At 67.8 percent, the employmentpopulation ratio for individuals with some college or an 

associate’s degree was 1.5 percentage points lower than a 

year earlier. Finally, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the ratio 

for college graduates decreased by 0.9 percentage point, to 

75.2 percent.

During 2008, the number of persons who were unemployed 

due to job loss rose sharply, as did the number of long-term 

unemployed. Most of the increase in total unemployment 

in 2008 was among job losers, as opposed to individuals 

leaving their jobs voluntarily or those entering or reentering the labor force. Unemployed job losers are those 

who lost their jobs involuntarily; they include persons on 

temporary layoff (awaiting recall) and those not on layoff: 

permanent job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs. Over the year, the number of persons who were 

unemployed due to job loss rose by about 2.4 million, to 

6.1 million, in the fourth quarter of 2008; persons who 

did not expect to be recalled to work accounted for most 

of the increase in job losers. Since the fourth quarter of 

2006, the number of unemployed job losers has been on 

an upward trend, increasing by nearly 3.0 million. During 

2008, the number of unemployed reentrants to the labor 

force also trended upward, increasing by 511,000, to 2.7 

million, in the fourth quarter of 2008. The number of job 

 Chart 3. Unemployment rate, by educational attainment, for persons 25 years and older, seasonally adjusted, 

quarter IV, 2007, and quarter IV, 2008

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Percent Percent

12

10

8

6

2

0

12

10

8

6

2

0

Total, 25 years

 and older

Less than a high 

 school diploma

High school 

 graduate, no college 

Less than a 

bachelor’s degree

College graduate

Quarter IV, 2007

Quarter IV, 2008
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

10 Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

leavers (persons who quit or otherwise terminated their 

employment voluntarily and immediately began looking 

for work) rose by 178,000, to 964,000, and the number of 

unemployed new entrants to the labor force increased by 

115,000, to 805,000. (See chart 4 and table 2.) 

About 2.4 million unemployed persons had been jobless 

for at least 27 weeks at the end of 2008, an increase of approximately 1.0 million from a year earlier. (See table 2.) 

These long-term unemployed individuals made up a larger 

proportion of the total unemployed than they did the previous year: 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 

from 18.1 percent a year earlier and well above a recent low 

of 10.7 percent in the second quarter of 2001. (See chart 

5.) At the end of 2008, the number of unemployed persons who had been looking for work for less than 5 weeks 

was 3.2 million, up by 599,000 from the fourth quarter of 

2007. The average (mean) duration of unemployment in 

the fourth quarter of 2008, 19.5 weeks, was higher than a 

year earlier, as was the median duration, 10.4 weeks.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons rose dramatically during 2008. Those employed part 

time for economic reasons, also referred to as involuntary 

part-time workers, are persons who would have preferred 

to work full time, but could not because of slack work 

or because they were unable to find full-time work. The 

number of persons who were employed part time for economic reasons rose by 2.9 million over the year, to 7.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Involuntary part-time 

employment was on an increasingly upward trend during 

2008, rising by 487,000 in the second quarter, 653,000 in 

the third quarter, and 1.4 million in the fourth quarter. 

(Chart 6 shows trends in involuntary part-time employment from 1969 to 2008.) As is typical during labor market downturns, nearly all of the increase occurred among 

those who cited slack work or business conditions as their 

reason for working part time. A rise in economic part-time 

employment due to slack work generally occurs before a 

rise in unemployment, because, faced with a decline in demand for their goods and services, many employers tend 

to reduce workers’ hours rather than lay off workers.5

Both the number of persons who wanted a job but were not in 

the labor force and the subset of persons who were marginally 

attached to the labor force increased in 2008. The category 

“not in the labor force” consists of persons who are neither 

 Chart 4. Reasons for unemployment, seasonally adjusted, quarterly averages, 1990–2008

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet 

determined an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Thousands

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,00

3,00

2,000

1,000

0

Job losers

Reentrants

Job leavers

New entrants

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,00

3,00

2,000

1,000

0

Thousands
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 11

 

 

 

Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV

 Reason for unemployment

Job losers and person who completed 

temporary jobs........................................................... 3,697  3,939  4,275 4,979

 On temporary layoff.............................................. 1,008 1,028 1,110 1,239 1,43

 Not on temporary layoff ...................................... 2,689 2,912  3,165 3,740 4,71

Job leavers......................................................................... 786 800 863 952 964

Reentrants......................................................................... 2,183 2,135 2,409 2,644 

New entrants.................................................................... 690 675 739 823 805 

Percent distribution:

 Job losers and persons who completed 

 temporary jobs.................................................... 50.3 52.2 51.6 53.0 57.9 

 On temporary layoff..................................... 13.7 13.6 13.4 13.2 1

 Not on temporary layoff............................. 36.6  38.6  38.2  3

 Job leavers................................................................ 10.7 10.6 10.4 10.1 9.1 –1

 Reentrants................................................................. 29.7 28.3 29.1 28.1 25.

 New entrants............................................................ 9.4 8.9 8.9 8.8 7.6 –1

 Duration of unemployment

Less than 5 weeks........................................................... 2,611 2,704 2,829 2,997 3,210

5 to 14 weeks.................................................................... 2,325 2,449 2,673 2,937

15 weeks or more............................................................ 2,406 2,440 2,809 3,425 4,1

 15 to 26 weeks......................................................... 1,078 1,120 1,287 1,546 1,839 7

 27 weeks or more ................................................... 1,328 1,320 1,522 1,879 2,358 1

Average (mean) duration, in weeks.......................... 16.9 16.8 17.1 17.9 19.5 2.6

Median duration, in weeks.......................................... 8.5 8.4 9.2 9.8 10.4

Percent distribution:

 Less than 5 weeks................................................... 35.6  35.6  34.0  3

 5 to 14 weeks........................................................... 31.7  32.3 32.2  3

 15 weeks or more ................................................... 32.8  32.1  33.8  36.

 15 to 26 weeks..................................................... 14.7 14.8 15.5 16.5 17.3

 27 weeks or more............................................... 18.1 17.4 18.3 20.1 22

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Change, 

quarter IV, 

2007, to 

quarter IV, 

2008

2008

2007

Reason and duration

Table 2.

[Levels in thousands]

Unemployed persons, by reason and duration of unemployment, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 

2007–08

Quarter IV,

employed nor unemployed. In the fourth quarter of 2008, 

there were 80.2 million persons who were not in the labor 

force (not seasonally adjusted). Of those who were not in 

the labor force, slightly more than half were 55 years and 

older. 

The number of persons who were not in the labor force 

and wanted a job was 5.0 million in the fourth quarter 

of 2008 (not seasonally adjusted), an increase of 730,000 

from a year earlier. Among this group, some had looked 

for a job sometime during the previous year and would 

have been available to work had they been offered a job. 

These individuals who were “marginally attached to the 

labor force” numbered 1.8 million in the fourth quarter 

of 2008, up by 474,000 from a year earlier. Some persons 

who were marginally attached to the labor force were not 

currently looking for a job because they felt that no jobs 

were available to them; such “discouraged workers” numbered 578,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008, or 234,000 

more than a year earlier. (See table 3.)

Paralleling the unemployment rate, the five alternative measures of labor underutilization increased in 2008. Alternative measures of labor underutilization are constructed 

by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) with the use of 

CPS data. Labeled U–1 through U–6 (U–3 is the official 

unemployment rate), the measures—which tend to show 

similar cyclical patterns—provide additional insight into 

the degree to which labor resources are underutilized.6
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

12 Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,00

3,00

2,000

1,000

500

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,00

3,00

2,000

1,000

500

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet determined 

an end point for the recession that began in December 2007. Beginning in 1994, data are affected by the redesign of the Current Population Survey

(denoted by vertical black line) and are not strictly comparable with data for previous years.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

 Chart 6. Persons employed part time for economic reasons, seasonally adjusted, quarterly averages, 

1969–2008

Thousands 

of persons

Thousands 

of persons

Part time for economic reasons

1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 

Could find only part-time work

Slack work

 Chart 5. Long-term unemployed as a percent of total unemployed, seasonally adjusted, quarterly averages, 

1990–2008

25

20

15

10

5

0

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet 

determined an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Percent Percent

25

20

15

10

5

0
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 1

 

 2008 

 

 

Total not in the labor force ...................................................... 79,185 79,985 79,146 78,711 80,16

 Persons who currently want a job..................................... 4,289 4,719 5,148 5,044 

 Marginally attached to the labor force1........................ 1,357 1,555 1,463 1,606 1

 Reasons not currently looking:

 Discouragement over job prospects2 ..................... 344 421 411

 Reasons other than discouragement3 .................... 1,013 1,134 1,052 1,170 

1 Persons who have searched for work during the previous 12 months 

and who were available to take a job during the reference week. 2 Reasons for discouragement include “thinks no work available,” 

“could not find work,” “lacks schooling or training,” “employer thinks 

person is too young or too old,” and other types of discrimination.

Category Quarter IV,

Change,

quarter IV,

2007, to

quarter IV,

2008

Table 3. Persons not in the labor force, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–08

3 Includes those respondents who did not actively look for work in

the previous  weeks for such reasons as childcare and transportation

problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation 

was not determined.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

 

[In thousands]

Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV 2007

U–4 through U–6 include the following broader groups in 

addition to the unemployed persons in U–3: discouraged 

workers (U–4); all marginally attached workers (U–5); and 

the marginally attached plus persons employed part time 

for economic reasons (U–6). In 2008, U–4 rose to 7.2 percent and U–5 to 7.9 percent. U–6 increased by 4.2 percentage points, to 12.7 percent. Most of the rise in U–6 was 

due to the increase in overall unemployment and in those 

employed part time for economic reasons, rather than a 

rise in those marginally attached to the labor force.7 (See 

table 4.)

In 2008, employment rose in management, professional, 

and related occupations and in service occupations, while it 

fell sharply in construction occupations. Employment also 

declined in sales and office occupations, production occupations, and transportation occupations. During 2008, the 

number of people employed in management, professional, 

and related occupations rose by 836,000, after increasing 

by 608,000 in 2007. (The data presented in this section 

are not seasonally adjusted.) Service occupations, which 

include health care support, protective service, and food 

preparation and serving related occupations, experienced 

another year of employment growth, rising by 723,000 

in the fourth quarter of 2008 after a smaller increase in 

2007.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, employment in construction and extraction occupations declined by 1.2 million, 

after remaining about unchanged in 2007 and following 

an increase of 1.5 million over the 4-year period from 

the fourth quarter of 2002 to the fourth quarter of 2006. 

During 2008, sales and office occupations employment 

fell by about 1.1 million, after a decline of 300,000 in 

2007. Office and administrative support occupations accounted for nearly the entire decline in sales and office 

occupations in 2008. Production occupations saw no job 

growth in 2007, and employment fell by 939,000 in 2008. 

Employment in transportation and material moving occupations declined by 446,000 in the fourth quarter of 

2008. (See table 5.)

Employment gains among men and women in management, business, and related occupations were about 

equal in 2008. Men made up approximately 98 percent 

of construction and extraction occupation employment in 

2008 and accounted for a proportionate share of the job 

loss in those occupations. Women accounted for the majority of the employment increase in service occupations 

and for nearly the entire decline in office occupations and 

administrative support occupations.

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers increased in 2008 at about the same rate as inflation, as 

measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). Median 

usual weekly earnings rose to $722 in 2008, an increase 

of 3.9 percent, about the same as the increase in the 

Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). (See table 6 and chart 7; 

the data presented in this section are annual averages.) 

Workers with usual weekly earnings in the tenth decile 

(top 10 percent of workers) experienced an increase of 5.7 

percent, to $1,693, in 2008, while workers with earnings 
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

14 Monthly Labor Review • Marc  20

in the first decile (bottom 10 percent of workers) experienced an increase of 4.8 percent, to $346. In 2008, median 

weekly earnings for both men and women grew at about 

the same rate (4.2 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.) 

The ratio of women’s earnings to men’s was 79.9 percent. 

Over time, the earnings gap between the sexes has narrowed considerably: in 1979, women’s earnings were 62.5 

percent of men’s.8 (See chart 8.)

Among the major racial and ethnic groups, Hispanics saw the largest percent increase in median earnings in 

2008: 5.2 percent. The earnings increases for Asians (3.7 

percent), Whites (3.6 percent), and Blacks (3.5 percent) 

were about the same.

Among the major occupation groups, workers in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations saw the largest overthe-year percent increase in earnings; although earnings 

for this occupation group remained the lowest overall, 

they were up 12.9 percent, to $420 per week. The earnings increases for workers in sales and related occupations 

and in production occupations were the lowest among 

the major occupation groups, at 2.0 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, in 2008. Median weekly earnings for 

management, business, and financial operations occupations remained the highest among the major occupation 

groups, increasing to $1,128.

Educational attainment is a major determinant of earnings. Workers 25 years and older with at least a bachelor’s 

degree continued to have the highest median weekly earnings among the major education groups: $1,115 in 2008, 

with an over-the-year percentage increase of 4.0 percent. 

Workers with some college or an associate’s degree earned 

$722, and high school graduates with no college earned 

$618 in 2008, both up slightly from a year earlier. Earnings 

of workers with less than a high school diploma remained 

the lowest among the major education groups, $453 in 

2008, but this group experienced the largest over-the-year 

percentage increase, 5.8 percent. (See table 6.)

The overall increase in unemployment—most notably, the 

rise in the number of job losers—reflects the changes in labor 

force status flow data. Each month, millions of individuals move between employment and unemployment, and 

millions of others enter or leave the labor market. In addition, people move into and out of the survey universe of 

 

 

 

 Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV 

U–1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent

of the civilian labor force ......................................................................... 1.6 1.6 1.8 2.2 2.7 1.1

U–2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as 

a percent of the civilian labor force ..................................................... 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.2 4

U–3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force

(official unemployment rate) ................................................................. 4.8 4.9 5.4 6.0 6

U–4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent

of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers..................... 5.0 5.2 5.6 6.3 7.2 2

U–5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other

marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor 

force plus all marginally attached workers....................................... 5.6 5.9 6.3 7.0 7.9 

U–6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus 

total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent 

of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached

workers........................................................................................................... 8.5 9.0 9.7 10.8 12.7 4

Table 4. Alternative measures of labor underutilization, quarterly averages, seasonally adjusted, 2007–08

Quarter IV, Change, 

quarter IV,

2007, to

quarter IV,

 2008

2008

Measure

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

 NOTE: Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are 

neither working nor looking for work, but who indicate that they want 

and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 

12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, 

have given a job-market-related reason for not currently looking for a job. 

Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want 

and are available for full-time work, but have had to settle for a part-time 

schedule. 

2007

[In percent]
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 15

 

 

 

 

 

 Total, 16 years and older................................ 146,731 144,500 –2,231 78,409 76,555 –1,854 68,322 

Management, professional, and related 

 occupations..................................................... 52,266 53,102 836 25,520 25,899 379 26,746 27

Management, business, and financial 

 operations occupations........................... 21,690 22,180 490 12,428 12,742 314 9,262

Professional and related occupations....... 30,576 30,922 346 13,092 13,157 65 17,485 

Service occupations............................................ 23,831 24,554 723 10,298 10,424 126 1

Health care support occupations.............. 3,087 3,312 225 331 364 33

 Protective service occupations.................. 2,981 3,104 123 2,316 2,366 50 

Food preparation and serving related 

 occupations.................................................. 7,719 7,882 163 3,391 3,477 86 4

Building and grounds cleaning and 

 maintenance occupations....................... 5,354 5,431 77 3,305 3,240 –65 2,

Personal care and service occupations... 4,690 4,826 136 955 977 22 3,7

Sales and office occupations............................ 36,253 35,187 –1,066 13,195 12,995 –200 23,059 22,1

Sales and related occupations.................... 16,511 16,355 –156 8,267 8,070 –197 8,245 8,2

Office and administrative support 

 occupations.................................................. 19,742 18,833 –909 4,928 4,925 –3 14,8

Natural resources, construction, and 

 maintenance occupations......................... 15,854 14,514 –1,340 15,153 13,901 –1,252

Farming, fishing, and forestry 

 occupations.................................................. 934 932 –2 744 713 –31 

Construction and extraction 

 occupations.................................................. 9,561 8,349 –1,212 9,269 8,143 –1,126 292 20

Installation, maintenance, and repair 

 occupations.................................................. 5,359 5,234 –125 5,140 5,046 –94 21

Production, transportation, and material 

 moving occupations.................................... 18,527 17,143 –1,384 14,244 13,336 –9

Production occupations............................... 9,520 8,581 –939 6,608 6,074 –534 2,911 2,

Transportation and material moving 

 occupations.................................................. 9,007 8,561 –446 7,636 7,262 –374 1,372 1

 

Quarter IV,

 2007

Table 5.

[In thousands]

Occupation

Change, 

quarter IV, 

2007, to

quarter IV, 

2008

Employment, by major occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted, 2007–08

Total

 Quarter IV, 

2008

Change, 

quarter IV,

 2007, to 

quarter IV, 

2008

Quarter IV, 

2007

 Quarter IV, 

2008

Change, 

quarter IV,

 2007, to

quarter IV, 

2008

 Quarter IV, 

2008

Quarter IV, 

2007

NOTE: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Men Women

the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 years and 

older. The flow of individuals between labor force states 

illustrates the fluid nature of the U.S. labor market and 

can be used to analyze changes in employment and unemployment.9

As stated earlier, from the fourth quarter of 2007 to 

the fourth quarter of 2008, the number of unemployed 

persons aged 16 years and older increased by 3.3 million 

and the number of unemployed job losers increased by 2.4 

million. The rise in the number of job losers corresponds 

with the sharp increase in the number of employed persons 

who became unemployed (represented as EU in chart 9) 

from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 

2008. In addition, the share of individuals from outside 

the labor force who became unemployed increased sharply, 

contributing to the rise in unemployment. Thus, the flow 

data show that the likelihood of employed persons becoming unemployed and the likelihood of new and returning 

entrants becoming unemployed both grew substantially 

over the period.

A greater understanding of the rise in unemployment 

in 2008 also can be gleaned by examining the flows from 

unemployment. Chart 10 shows the proportion of unemployed individuals who found employment (UE), the 

proportion remaining unemployed (UU), and the proportion who left the labor force (UN). The data indicate that, 

from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 

2008, unemployed individuals became less likely to find 
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

16 Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

 Total, 16 years and older.................................... $695 $722 3

CPI-U (1982–84 = 100) ......................................... 207.3 215

Men........................................................................ $766 $798 4

Women................................................................. 614 63

White..................................................................... 716 742 

 Men ................................................................... 788 825 4

 Women............................................................. 626 654 

Black or African-American............................. 569 589 3

 Men ................................................................... 600 620 

 Women............................................................. 533 5

Asian...................................................................... 830 861 

 Men ................................................................... 936 966 

 Women............................................................. 731 753

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.......................... 503 529 5

 Men ................................................................... 520 559 7.5

 Women............................................................. 473 501

Management, business, and financial 

 operations occupations............................. 1,080 1,128 

Professional and related occupations....... 951 980 3

Service occupations........................................ 454 

Sales and related occupations..................... 643 656 

Office and administrative support 

 occupations.................................................... 581 601 

Farming, fishing, and forestry 

 occupations.................................................... 372 420 

Construction and extraction 

 occupations.................................................... 646 688 6.

Installation, maintenance, and repair 

 occupations.................................................... 749 77

Production occupations................................ 581 595 2.

Transportation and material moving 

 occupations.................................................... 570 593 

 Total, 25 years and older.................................... 738 761 

Less than a high school diploma ................ 428 4

High school graduate, no college .............. 604 618 

Some college or associate’s degree........... 704 722 2

Bachelor’s degree or higher, total .............. 1,072 1,115 4

Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage 

Characteristic

Percent

change,

2007–08

Table 6.

2007 2008

and salary workers, by selected characteristics,

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey and 

Consumer Price Index.

annual averages, 2007–08

employment and much more likely to remain unemployed. 

In fact, the likelihood that an unemployed person would 

find employment was at a series low in the fourth quarter 

of 2008, dating back to February 1990. The percentage of 

unemployed individuals who remained unemployed rose 

from 51 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 58 percent 

in the fourth quarter of 2008. Historically, the unemployed 

remain unemployed far longer during periods of labor market weakness.10

New CPS data on the employment status of persons with a 

disability were collected in 2008. In June 2008, questions 

were added to the CPS to identify persons with a disability in the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 

years and older. The collection of these data is sponsored 

by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. The new questions allowed the BLS to 

begin releasing monthly CPS labor force data on persons 

with a disability. In the fourth quarter of 2008, these 

individuals had a labor force participation rate of 23.1 

percent, compared with a rate of 71.4 percent for persons 

with no disabilities. The unemployment rate for persons 

with a disability was 11.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 

2008, while the rate for persons with no disability was 6.4 

percent. There also was a large difference in the employment-population ratios between persons with a disability 

and those with no disability in the fourth quarter of 2008, 

at 20.4 percent and 66.9 percent, respectively.11

IN SUM, DATA FROM THE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY indicate 

that the labor market continued to deteriorate in 2008, 

reflecting the onset of a recession. Unemployment rates 

increased gradually in the beginning of the year and accelerated after the first quarter of 2008. Employment declined 

for nearly all major worker groups, with men accounting for 

a much larger proportion of the decline than women. The 

employment-population ratio fell over the year, but labor 

force participation remained relatively flat. Also, more individuals were unemployed due to job loss, a greater number 

were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer, and the number 

of persons employed part time for economic reasons increased dramatically. Median weekly earnings for full-time 

wage and salary workers increased at about the same rate 

as inflation. 
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 17

 Chart 7. Over-the-year percent change in median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary 

workers, not seasonally adjusted, annual averages, 2007–08

Percent

change

Percent

change

6.0

5.0

4.

3.

2.0

1.0

0.0

Total Men Women Less than 

high school 

High school

graduate 

Some college Bachelor’s 

degree and 

higher

6.0

5.0

4.

3.

2.0

1.0

0.0

NOTE: Data by educational attainment are for those 25 years and older.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey and Consumer Price Index.

Over-the-year percent change

 in the CPI-U = 3.8 percen

 Chart 8. Women’s median usual weekly earnings as a percent of men’s, full-time wage and salary workers, 

annual averages, 1979–2008

85.0

80.0

75.0

70.0

65.0

60.0

55.0

50.0

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Percent

85.0

80.0

75.0

70.0

65.0

60.0

55.0

50.0

Percent

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 200
U.S. Labor Market, 2008

18 Monthly Labor Review • March 2009

 Chart 9. Inflows to unemployment, seasonally adjusted, 3-month moving average, February 1990–

December 2008

3,00

2,800

2,600

2,40

2,200

2,000

1,800

1,600

1,40

1,200

1,000

Thousands Thousands

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet determined

an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2

3,00

2,800

2,600

2,40

2,200

2,000

1,800

1,600

1,40

1,200

1,000

Employed becoming

 unemployed (EU)

Moving from not in the labor force 

 to unemployed (NU)

 Chart 10. Percent of the unemployed finding employment, remaining unemployed, or leaving the labor 

Percent

65.0

60.0

55.0

50.0

45.

40.

35.

30.

25.0

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

65.0

60.0

55.0

50.0

45.

40.

35.

30.

25.0

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

Percent

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER has not yet determined

an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Remaining unemployed (UU)

Moving from unemployed

 to employed (UE)

force, seasonally adjusted, 3-month moving average, February 1990–December 2008

Moving from unemployed

 to not in the labor force (UN)
Monthly Labor Review • March 2009 19

Notes

1 NBER is generally recognized as the official arbiter of recessions in the 

United States. The organization determined that the recession prior to the current one lasted from March 2001 to November 2001. The NBER has not yet 

determined an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

 2 The data in this article are based on information collected in the CPS, also 

called the household survey, a sample survey of about 60,000 households nationwide sponsored jointly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. 

(For more information about the household survey, see the box on page 5.) Although the CPS is a monthly survey, the data analyzed throughout this article are 

seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, unless otherwise noted. All over-the-year 

changes are comparisons of fourth-quarter data from 2007 to 2008.

 3 For further information on teen school enrollment and employment, see 

Teresa L. Morisi, “Youth enrollment and employment during the school year,” 

Monthly Labor Review, February 2008, pp. 51–63; on the Internet at www.bls.

gov/opub/mlr/2008/02/art3full.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

 4 For additional information on trends in labor force participation, see 

Abraham Mosisa and Steven Hipple, “Trends in labor force participation in the 

United States,” Monthly Labor Review, October 2006, pp. 35–57; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/10/art3full.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

 5 For additional information on persons working part time for economic 

reasons, see Emy Sok, “Involuntary part-time work on the rise,” Issues in Labor 

Statistics, December 2008; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/

opbils71.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

 6 For further information about the alternative measures of unemployment, 

see John E. Bregger and Steven E. Haugen, “BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment measures,” Monthly Labor Review, October 1995, pp. 

19–26; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1995/10/art3full.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

 7 For an additional analysis of labor force underutilization, see Sharon Cohany, “The Unemployment Rate and Beyond: Alternative Measures of Labor 

Underutilization,” Issues in Labor Statistics, June 2008; on the Internet at www.

bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils67.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

 8 The CPS first began collecting weekly earnings data each month in 1979.

 9 For further background information about labor force status flows, see 

Randy Ilg, “Analyzing CPS data using gross flows,” Monthly Labor Review, September 2005, pp. 10–18; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/09/

art2full.pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

10 For an additional analysis of labor force status flows, see Randy Ilg, “Why 

Has Unemployment Risen? Insights From Labor Force Flows,” Issues in Labor 

Statistics, June 2008; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils66.

pdf (visited Mar. 9, 2009).

11 For additional information on monthly disability data, see “New monthly 

data series on the employment status of people with a disability,” Labor Force 

Statistics from the Current Population Survey (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Feb. 

6, 2009), on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability.htm (visited Mar. 

9, 2009).