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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-512 606-6373 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, December 17, 1996 WORK EXPERIENCE IN 1995 In 1995, about 139.0 million persons worked at some time during the year, according to data from the annual survey of work experience released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This level was about 1.4 million higher than a year earlier. The proportion of persons who worked in 1995 was 69.5 percent, the same as in 1994. Nearly four-fifths of those employed during 1995 worked full time--that is, they usually worked 35 hours or more a week--and about 7 in 10 were employed year round (50 to 52 weeks). (See the Explanatory Note for a description of the survey and concepts.) During 1995, 18.1 million workers experienced at least one week of unemployment. About 15.4 million of those, or about 85 percent, also worked at some time during the year. Unemployment, both as a level and as a share of those participating in the labor force, was lower than it was in 1994. Persons with Employment Over the past three decades, the share of all persons who had some work experience during the year has trended upward. In 1966, 66.9 percent of all persons (age 16 years and older) had a job during the year compared with a high of 70.3 percent in 1989. In the recessionary period of the early 1990s, the proportion of persons with some work activity declined, as was the case in prior periods of economic contraction. As the economy again began to generate substantial employment growth, the share of persons with employment rose to 69.5 percent in 1994 and remained at that level in 1995. Over the longer period, the share of men with employment has trended downward, from 85.4 percent in 1966 to 76.8 percent in 1995. In contrast, women’s work activity rose during the period--their employment rate increased from 50.4 to 62.8 percent. Of the 139.0 million persons who worked at some time during 1995, nearly 8 in 10 were employed full time. This share has trended downward since the mid-1960s, as the proportion working 35 hours or more a week has declined for men while remaining unchanged for women. Nevertheless, in 1995, women were still less likely than men to work full time during the year, 70.3 versus 86.1 percent. (See table 1.) In 1995, 7 in 10 persons with work experience worked year round. Changing work patterns for women have led this share to increase since the mid-1960s. Working women’s shift to year-round work has been far more pronounced than their shift to full-time work. Still, as with full-time employment, women continued to be less likely than men to work year round in 1995, 67.6 versus 76.0 percent (full- and part-time schedules combined). In 1995, whites continued to be more likely to work during the year (70.4 percent) than either blacks (64.1 percent) or Hispanics (66.4 percent). However, the share of workers who were employed either full time or year round was about the same in these groups. (See table 2.) - 2 Persons with Unemployment During 1995, 18.1 million persons experienced some unemployment, and the “work experience” unemployment rate was about 13 percent of all labor force participants. (See table 3.) In 1992, when the labor market was beginning to recover from the 1990-91 recession, nearly 16 percent of all labor force participants had some unemployment. During the recessionary periods of the mid-1970s and early 1980s, as much as 20 percent of workers experienced some unemployment. During 1995, 14.9 percent of labor force participants who experienced unemployment did not work at all during the year. This ratio has declined since 1993, when it was 16.7 percent, reflecting the residual effects of the 1990-91 recession. However, it has not fallen to the 1989 level registered just prior to the recession (9.1 percent). Some labor force participants experience multiple periods of unemployment during the year. Among persons who worked during the year and also experienced unemployment, 29.1 percent had at least two spells of joblessness. This proportion fluctuates with the business cycle but since the late 1960s, the proportion has generally remained at about one-third of all jobless persons who also had employment during the year. The median number of weeks spent looking for work during 1995 was 13.7, the same as in the prior year. The "work experience" unemployment rate continued to be much higher for blacks and Hispanics in 1995--19.0 and 17.9 percent, respectively--than for whites (11.9 percent). In addition, whites had the shortest duration of unemployment and the smallest proportion of workers with multiple spells of unemployment during the year. (See table 4.) - 3 Explanatory Note Data collection 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 1996 refer to the 1995 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 1995 was about 2-1/2 times the number unemployed in an average month during the year. 1995 estimates (in thousands) Annual average of monthly estimates March supplement data Employed Unemployed 124,900 138,971 7,404 18,063 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. In January 1994, a major redesign of the CPS was introduced, incorporating a completely revised basic questionnaire and an automated data collection process. In addition, 1990 census-based population controls, adjusted for the estimated undercount were incorporated into the estimation process. (New population controls are introduced after each decennial census.) Questions used in the March supplement were not changed as part of the redesign. As a result, only the change in collection technology and the introduction of the 1990 population controls would affect comparisons of 1995 work experience data with that collected prior to 1994. The impact of the change in collection technology is difficult to gauge, but at this point is believed to be negligible; the change in population controls does affect the estimated levels, but has little impact on percentages. Concepts and definitions Persons who worked. A person is considered in the March supplement to have worked if they respond "yes" to either the question "Did you work at a job or business at any time during 1995?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 1995?" 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 respond "yes" to the question "Even though you did not work in 1995, did you spend any time trying to find a job or on layoff?" Labor force participants. during the year. Persons who either worked or were unemployed 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 work 35 hours or more in a week; part-time employment refers to workers whose typical workweek is between 1 and 34 hours. Year-round and part-year employment. Workers are classified as year round if they work 50 to 52 weeks a year. Part-year employment refers to workers who work fewer than 50 weeks a year. Table 1. Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 1994-95 Total Men Women Extent of employment 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 103,128 66,023 64.0 64,452 62.5 104,058 66,677 64.1 65,304 62.8 Numbers (in thousands) Civilian noninstitutional population............................ Total who worked or looked for work........................... Percent of the population................................... Total who worked during the year(1)........................... Percent of the population................................... 198,022 140,441 70.9 137,584 69.5 199,925 141,659 70.9 138,971 69.5 94,894 74,418 78.4 73,132 77.1 95,867 74,982 78.2 73,667 76.8 Full time(2)................................................ 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 107,271 84,930 2,325 5,548 5,157 5,336 3,975 109,329 87,446 2,363 5,522 5,081 5,041 3,876 62,815 50,796 1,375 2,956 2,744 2,872 2,073 63,446 51,976 1,349 2,877 2,744 2,576 1,925 44,456 34,134 950 2,593 2,413 2,464 1,903 45,882 35,471 1,014 2,645 2,336 2,465 1,951 Part time(3)................................................ 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 30,313 12,929 827 2,764 3,362 4,823 5,607 29,643 12,711 888 2,787 3,155 4,742 5,360 10,317 3,945 239 1,004 1,113 1,786 2,230 10,221 4,023 276 870 1,109 1,789 2,153 19,996 8,984 588 1,760 2,249 3,037 3,377 19,422 8,688 611 1,917 2,045 2,953 3,207 Percent distribution Total who worked during the year(1)............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).................................................. 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 78.0 61.7 1.7 4.0 3.7 3.9 2.9 78.7 62.9 1.7 4.0 3.7 3.6 2.8 85.9 69.5 1.9 4.0 3.8 3.9 2.8 86.1 70.6 1.8 3.9 3.7 3.5 2.6 69.0 53.0 1.5 4.0 3.7 3.8 3.0 70.3 54.3 1.6 4.1 3.6 3.8 3.0 Part time(3).................................................. 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 22.0 9.4 .6 2.0 2.4 3.5 4.1 21.3 9.1 .6 2.0 2.3 3.4 3.9 14.1 5.4 .3 1.4 1.5 2.4 3.0 13.9 5.5 .4 1.2 1.5 2.4 2.9 31.0 13.9 .9 2.7 3.5 4.7 5.2 29.7 13.3 .9 2.9 3.1 4.5 4.9 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week. NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1994-95 (Numbers in thousands) Total Men Women Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... Total who worked or looked for work......................... Percent of the population................................. Total who worked during the year(1)......................... Percent of the population................................. 166,367 118,793 71.4 116,853 70.2 167,865 119,833 71.4 118,107 70.4 80,365 63,774 79.4 62,886 78.2 81,253 64,289 79.1 63,478 78.1 86,002 55,019 64.0 53,968 62.8 86,612 55,545 64.1 54,630 63.1 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... Full time(2).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 1 to 26 weeks........................................... Part time(3).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 100.0 77.7 61.8 9.5 6.5 22.3 9.7 5.2 7.4 100.0 78.2 62.8 9.3 6.1 21.8 9.5 5.1 7.2 100.0 86.2 70.0 9.6 6.6 13.8 5.3 3.2 5.2 100.0 86.2 71.0 9.4 5.8 13.8 5.5 3.1 5.1 100.0 67.9 52.2 9.2 6.4 32.1 14.8 7.4 9.9 100.0 68.9 53.3 9.1 6.5 31.1 14.1 7.4 9.7 Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... Total who worked or looked for work......................... Percent of the population................................. Total who worked during the year(1)......................... Percent of the population................................. 23,146 15,648 67.6 14,903 64.4 23,482 15,855 67.5 15,059 64.1 10,365 7,363 71.0 7,036 67.9 10,515 7,567 72.0 7,153 68.0 12,781 8,285 64.8 7,867 61.6 12,967 8,288 63.9 7,905 61.0 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... Full time(2).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 100.0 79.2 61.4 9.5 100.0 81.8 63.4 10.1 100.0 83.3 65.7 10.0 100.0 85.3 66.3 10.3 100.0 75.5 57.6 9.1 100.0 78.6 60.7 9.9 WHITE BLACK 1 to 26 weeks........................................... Part time(3).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.2 20.8 7.4 4.5 8.9 8.3 18.2 7.1 3.6 7.5 7.7 16.7 6.1 3.1 7.5 8.7 14.7 5.1 2.7 6.8 8.7 24.5 8.7 5.7 10.2 8.0 21.4 8.9 4.4 8.1 Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... Total who worked or looked for work......................... Percent of the population................................. Total who worked during the year(1)......................... Percent of the population................................. 18,459 12,649 68.5 12,228 66.2 19,028 13,081 68.7 12,627 66.4 9,249 7,394 79.9 7,200 77.9 9,518 7,640 80.3 7,422 78.0 9,210 5,255 57.1 5,028 54.6 9,510 5,442 57.2 5,205 54.7 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... Full time(2).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 1 to 26 weeks........................................... Part time(3).............................................. 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 100.0 80.1 59.8 10.7 9.5 19.9 7.9 4.5 7.6 100.0 81.2 60.9 10.7 9.6 18.8 8.1 3.3 7.4 100.0 85.8 65.8 11.3 8.8 14.2 5.2 3.6 5.4 100.0 87.0 66.2 11.7 9.0 13.0 5.2 2.3 5.5 100.0 71.9 51.2 10.0 10.7 28.1 11.8 5.7 10.6 100.0 73.0 53.2 9.3 10.5 27.0 12.4 4.6 10.0 HISPANIC ORIGIN 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1994-95 Total Men Women Extent of employment 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 Numbers (in thousands) Total who worked or looked for work............................. Percent with unemployment..................................... 140,441 13.5 141,659 12.8 74,418 14.2 74,982 13.3 66,023 12.7 66,677 12.1 Total with unemployment....................................... Did not work but looked for work............................ 1 to 14 weeks............................................. 15 weeks or more.......................................... Worked during the year...................................... Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment... Part-year workers(2) with unemployment.................... 1 to 4 weeks............................................ 5 to 10 weeks........................................... 11 to 14 weeks.......................................... 15 to 26 weeks.......................................... 27 weeks or more........................................ 18,944 2,857 1,334 1,523 16,087 746 15,342 2,779 2,975 2,263 4,155 3,168 18,063 2,688 1,223 1,465 15,374 715 14,660 2,812 2,723 2,146 4,013 2,965 10,565 1,286 528 758 9,278 527 8,751 1,361 1,658 1,368 2,447 1,917 9,992 1,315 482 833 8,677 462 8,215 1,398 1,432 1,253 2,439 1,693 8,379 1,570 806 765 6,809 219 6,590 1,418 1,317 896 1,708 1,251 8,070 1,373 740 633 6,697 253 6,444 1,413 1,291 893 1,574 1,272 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.................... 13.7 13.7 14.2 14.3 13.0 12.8 With 2 spells or more of unemployment........................... 2 spells...................................................... 3 spells or more.............................................. 4,774 2,202 2,572 4,468 1,963 2,505 2,934 1,264 1,670 2,793 1,110 1,683 1,840 938 902 1,675 853 822 Percent distribution Did not work but looked for work................................ 1 to 14 weeks................................................. 15 weeks or more.............................................. Worked during the year.......................................... Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment....... Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................ 1 to 4 weeks................................................ 5 to 10 weeks............................................... 11 to 14 weeks.............................................. 15 to 26 weeks.............................................. 27 weeks or more............................................ 100.0 46.7 53.3 100.0 4.6 95.4 17.3 18.5 14.1 25.8 19.7 100.0 45.5 54.5 100.0 4.6 95.4 18.3 17.7 14.0 26.1 19.3 100.0 41.1 58.9 100.0 5.7 94.3 14.7 17.9 14.7 26.4 20.7 100.0 36.7 63.3 100.0 5.3 94.7 16.1 16.5 14.4 28.1 19.5 100.0 51.3 48.7 100.0 3.2 96.8 20.8 19.3 13.2 25.1 18.4 100.0 53.9 46.1 100.0 3.8 96.2 21.1 19.3 13.3 23.5 19.0 With 2 spells or more of unemployment......................... 2 spells.................................................... 29.7 13.7 29.1 12.8 31.6 13.6 32.2 12.8 27.0 13.8 25.0 12.7 3 spells or more............................................ 16.0 16.3 18.0 19.4 13.3 12.3 1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks. 2 Worked less than 50 weeks. NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1995-96 (Numbers in thousands) Total Men Women Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic origin 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 Total who worked or looked for work........................... Percent with unemployment................................... 118,793 12.7 119,833 11.9 63,774 13.5 64,289 12.4 55,019 11.8 55,545 11.3 Total with unemployment..................................... Did not work but looked for work.......................... Worked during the year.................................... 15,086 1,939 13,146 14,206 1,726 12,480 8,590 888 7,702 7,950 811 7,139 6,496 1,051 5,444 6,256 915 5,341 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 13.2 13.2 13.7 13.9 12.3 12.1 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 15 weeks or more...................................... 100.0 5.0 95.0 18.2 33.4 43.5 100.0 4.8 95.2 18.8 32.6 43.8 100.0 6.1 93.9 15.3 33.4 45.2 100.0 5.5 94.5 16.6 31.7 46.2 100.0 3.4 96.6 22.1 33.3 41.1 100.0 3.9 96.1 21.8 33.7 40.6 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 29.2 28.8 31.6 31.6 25.8 25.0 Total who worked or looked for work........................... Percent with unemployment................................... 15,648 18.7 15,855 19.0 7,363 19.8 7,567 20.9 8,285 17.8 8,288 17.3 Total with unemployment..................................... 2,933 3,013 1,458 1,580 1,475 1,433 WHITE BLACK Did not work but looked for work.......................... Worked during the year.................................... 745 2,188 797 2,217 327 1,131 414 1,167 417 1,057 383 1,050 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 18.0 16.5 18.6 17.2 17.1 15.9 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 15 weeks or more...................................... 100.0 2.4 97.6 12.2 28.5 56.9 100.0 4.0 96.0 15.1 27.5 53.4 100.0 2.7 97.3 10.4 27.7 59.2 100.0 4.8 95.2 12.4 28.1 54.8 100.0 2.0 98.0 14.1 29.4 54.5 100.0 3.1 96.9 18.1 26.9 51.9 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.4 31.1 32.1 34.9 32.7 26.8 Total who worked or looked for work........................... Percent with unemployment................................... 12,649 17.6 13,081 17.9 7,394 18.0 7,640 18.6 5,255 17.0 5,442 16.8 Total with unemployment..................................... Did not work but looked for work.......................... Worked during the year.................................... 2,224 421 1,803 2,335 454 1,881 1,330 194 1,136 1,419 218 1,202 894 227 667 916 236 679 Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 15.5 17.4 15.2 17.2 16.1 17.7 Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 15 weeks or more...................................... 100.0 4.1 95.9 16.3 28.7 51.0 100.0 4.1 95.9 13.2 27.4 55.3 100.0 5.5 94.5 15.0 29.2 50.4 100.0 4.6 95.4 12.6 27.6 55.2 100.0 1.7 98.3 18.4 27.8 52.1 100.0 3.4 96.6 14.2 27.0 55.4 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.7 31.5 33.3 33.4 31.6 28.1 HISPANIC ORIGIN 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.