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. Employed Unemployed 1995 estimates (in thousands) Annual average of monthly estimates 124,900 7,404 March supplement data 138,971 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. 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 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 Numbers (in thousands) Civilian noninstitutional population............................ 198,022 199,925 94,894 95,867 103,128 104,058 Total who worked or looked for work........................... 140,441 141,659 74,418 74,982 66,023 66,677 Percent of the population................................... 70.9 70.9 78.4 78.2 64.0 64.1 Total who worked during the year(1)........................... 137,584 138,971 73,132 73,667 64,452 65,304 Percent of the population................................... 69.5 69.5 77.1 76.8 62.5 62.8 Full time(2)................................................ 107,271 109,329 62,815 63,446 44,456 45,882 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 84,930 87,446 50,796 51,976 34,134 35,471 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 2,325 2,363 1,375 1,349 950 1,014 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 5,548 5,522 2,956 2,877 2,593 2,645 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 5,157 5,081 2,744 2,744 2,413 2,336 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 5,336 5,041 2,872 2,576 2,464 2,465 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 3,975 3,876 2,073 1,925 1,903 1,951 Part time(3)................................................ 30,313 29,643 10,317 10,221 19,996 19,422 50 to 52 weeks............................................ 12,929 12,711 3,945 4,023 8,984 8,688 48 to 49 weeks............................................ 827 888 239 276 588 611 40 to 47 weeks............................................ 2,764 2,787 1,004 870 1,760 1,917 27 to 39 weeks............................................ 3,362 3,155 1,113 1,109 2,249 2,045 14 to 26 weeks............................................ 4,823 4,742 1,786 1,789 3,037 2,953 1 to 13 weeks............................................. 5,607 5,360 2,230 2,153 3,377 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).................................................. 78.0 78.7 85.9 86.1 69.0 70.3 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 61.7 62.9 69.5 70.6 53.0 54.3 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.5 1.6 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.1 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.6 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.9 3.6 3.9 3.5 3.8 3.8 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.0 Part time(3).................................................. 22.0 21.3 14.1 13.9 31.0 29.7 50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 9.4 9.1 5.4 5.5 13.9 13.3 48 to 49 weeks.............................................. .6 .6 .3 .4 .9 .9 40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 2.0 2.0 1.4 1.2 2.7 2.9 27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 2.4 2.3 1.5 1.5 3.5 3.1 14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.5 3.4 2.4 2.4 4.7 4.5 1 to 13 weeks............................................... 4.1 3.9 3.0 2.9 5.2 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 WHITE Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 166,367 167,865 80,365 81,253 86,002 86,612 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 118,793 119,833 63,774 64,289 55,019 55,545 Percent of the population................................. 71.4 71.4 79.4 79.1 64.0 64.1 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 116,853 118,107 62,886 63,478 53,968 54,630 Percent of the population................................. 70.2 70.4 78.2 78.1 62.8 63.1 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 77.7 78.2 86.2 86.2 67.9 68.9 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 61.8 62.8 70.0 71.0 52.2 53.3 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.5 9.3 9.6 9.4 9.2 9.1 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 6.5 6.1 6.6 5.8 6.4 6.5 Part time(3).............................................. 22.3 21.8 13.8 13.8 32.1 31.1 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 9.7 9.5 5.3 5.5 14.8 14.1 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 5.2 5.1 3.2 3.1 7.4 7.4 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 7.4 7.2 5.2 5.1 9.9 9.7 BLACK Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 23,146 23,482 10,365 10,515 12,781 12,967 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 15,648 15,855 7,363 7,567 8,285 8,288 Percent of the population................................. 67.6 67.5 71.0 72.0 64.8 63.9 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 14,903 15,059 7,036 7,153 7,867 7,905 Percent of the population................................. 64.4 64.1 67.9 68.0 61.6 61.0 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 79.2 81.8 83.3 85.3 75.5 78.6 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 61.4 63.4 65.7 66.3 57.6 60.7 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.5 10.1 10.0 10.3 9.1 9.9 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.2 8.3 7.7 8.7 8.7 8.0 Part time(3).............................................. 20.8 18.2 16.7 14.7 24.5 21.4 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 7.4 7.1 6.1 5.1 8.7 8.9 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 4.5 3.6 3.1 2.7 5.7 4.4 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.9 7.5 7.5 6.8 10.2 8.1 HISPANIC ORIGIN Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 18,459 19,028 9,249 9,518 9,210 9,510 Total who worked or looked for work......................... 12,649 13,081 7,394 7,640 5,255 5,442 Percent of the population................................. 68.5 68.7 79.9 80.3 57.1 57.2 Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 12,228 12,627 7,200 7,422 5,028 5,205 Percent of the population................................. 66.2 66.4 77.9 78.0 54.6 54.7 Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Full time(2).............................................. 80.1 81.2 85.8 87.0 71.9 73.0 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 59.8 60.9 65.8 66.2 51.2 53.2 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 10.7 10.7 11.3 11.7 10.0 9.3 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 9.5 9.6 8.8 9.0 10.7 10.5 Part time(3).............................................. 19.9 18.8 14.2 13.0 28.1 27.0 50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 7.9 8.1 5.2 5.2 11.8 12.4 27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 4.5 3.3 3.6 2.3 5.7 4.6 1 to 26 weeks........................................... 7.6 7.4 5.4 5.5 10.6 10.0 1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave. 2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week. 3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer to persons 16 years and over. Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1994-95 Total Men Women Extent of employment 1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995 Numbers (in thousands) Total who worked or looked for work............................. 140,441 141,659 74,418 74,982 66,023 66,677 Percent with unemployment..................................... 13.5 12.8 14.2 13.3 12.7 12.1 Total with unemployment....................................... 18,944 18,063 10,565 9,992 8,379 8,070 Did not work but looked for work............................ 2,857 2,688 1,286 1,315 1,570 1,373 1 to 14 weeks............................................. 1,334 1,223 528 482 806 740 15 weeks or more.......................................... 1,523 1,465 758 833 765 633 Worked during the year...................................... 16,087 15,374 9,278 8,677 6,809 6,697 Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment... 746 715 527 462 219 253 Part-year workers(2) with unemployment.................... 15,342 14,660 8,751 8,215 6,590 6,444 1 to 4 weeks............................................ 2,779 2,812 1,361 1,398 1,418 1,413 5 to 10 weeks........................................... 2,975 2,723 1,658 1,432 1,317 1,291 11 to 14 weeks.......................................... 2,263 2,146 1,368 1,253 896 893 15 to 26 weeks.......................................... 4,155 4,013 2,447 2,439 1,708 1,574 27 weeks or more........................................ 3,168 2,965 1,917 1,693 1,251 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........................... 4,774 4,468 2,934 2,793 1,840 1,675 2 spells...................................................... 2,202 1,963 1,264 1,110 938 853 3 spells or more.............................................. 2,572 2,505 1,670 1,683 902 822 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................................................. 46.7 45.5 41.1 36.7 51.3 53.9 15 weeks or more.............................................. 53.3 54.5 58.9 63.3 48.7 46.1 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....... 4.6 4.6 5.7 5.3 3.2 3.8 Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................ 95.4 95.4 94.3 94.7 96.8 96.2 1 to 4 weeks................................................ 17.3 18.3 14.7 16.1 20.8 21.1 5 to 10 weeks............................................... 18.5 17.7 17.9 16.5 19.3 19.3 11 to 14 weeks.............................................. 14.1 14.0 14.7 14.4 13.2 13.3 15 to 26 weeks.............................................. 25.8 26.1 26.4 28.1 25.1 23.5 27 weeks or more............................................ 19.7 19.3 20.7 19.5 18.4 19.0 With 2 spells or more of unemployment......................... 29.7 29.1 31.6 32.2 27.0 25.0 2 spells.................................................... 13.7 12.8 13.6 12.8 13.8 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 WHITE Total who worked or looked for work........................... 118,793 119,833 63,774 64,289 55,019 55,545 Percent with unemployment................................... 12.7 11.9 13.5 12.4 11.8 11.3 Total with unemployment..................................... 15,086 14,206 8,590 7,950 6,496 6,256 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 1,939 1,726 888 811 1,051 915 Worked during the year.................................... 13,146 12,480 7,702 7,139 5,444 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)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 5.0 4.8 6.1 5.5 3.4 3.9 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 95.0 95.2 93.9 94.5 96.6 96.1 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 18.2 18.8 15.3 16.6 22.1 21.8 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 33.4 32.6 33.4 31.7 33.3 33.7 15 weeks or more...................................... 43.5 43.8 45.2 46.2 41.1 40.6 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 29.2 28.8 31.6 31.6 25.8 25.0 BLACK Total who worked or looked for work........................... 15,648 15,855 7,363 7,567 8,285 8,288 Percent with unemployment................................... 18.7 19.0 19.8 20.9 17.8 17.3 Total with unemployment..................................... 2,933 3,013 1,458 1,580 1,475 1,433 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 745 797 327 414 417 383 Worked during the year.................................... 2,188 2,217 1,131 1,167 1,057 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)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 2.4 4.0 2.7 4.8 2.0 3.1 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 97.6 96.0 97.3 95.2 98.0 96.9 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 12.2 15.1 10.4 12.4 14.1 18.1 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 28.5 27.5 27.7 28.1 29.4 26.9 15 weeks or more...................................... 56.9 53.4 59.2 54.8 54.5 51.9 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.4 31.1 32.1 34.9 32.7 26.8 HISPANIC ORIGIN Total who worked or looked for work........................... 12,649 13,081 7,394 7,640 5,255 5,442 Percent with unemployment................................... 17.6 17.9 18.0 18.6 17.0 16.8 Total with unemployment..................................... 2,224 2,335 1,330 1,419 894 916 Did not work but looked for work.......................... 421 454 194 218 227 236 Worked during the year.................................... 1,803 1,881 1,136 1,202 667 679 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)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 4.1 4.1 5.5 4.6 1.7 3.4 Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 95.9 95.9 94.5 95.4 98.3 96.6 1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 16.3 13.2 15.0 12.6 18.4 14.2 5 to 14 weeks......................................... 28.7 27.4 29.2 27.6 27.8 27.0 15 weeks or more...................................... 51.0 55.3 50.4 55.2 52.1 55.4 With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.7 31.5 33.3 33.4 31.6 28.1 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.