Unemployment rate returned to its prepandemic level in 2022

In 2022, the U.S. labor market continued to recover from the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.¹ In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate averaged 3.6 percent, 0.6 percentage point below the rate from a year earlier.² The number of unemployed people, at 5.9 million in the fourth quarter, decreased over the year. Both measures returned to their prepandemic levels.³

Total employment, as measured by the Current Population Survey (CPS), rose over the year.⁴ The employment–population ratio increased to 60.0 percent, but it remained below its prepandemic value. The labor force participation rate (the percentage of the population ages 16 and older who are either employed or actively seeking employment), at 62.2 percent in the fourth quarter, was essentially unchanged over the year (after removing the effects of annual adjustments to population controls) and remained below its prepandemic level. (See appendix A for more information about the CPS, as well as the Current Employment Statistics survey. See appendix B for more information on the annual adjustments to CPS population controls.)

This article highlights a broad range of economic indicators from the CPS, providing a picture of labor market performance in 2022, both overall and for various demographic groups. The article also provides 2022 updates on the trends in usual weekly earnings, labor force flows, the number of self-employed people, and it summarizes recent changes in the employment situations of veterans, people with a disability, and the foreign born.

The number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate declined for all major demographic groups  

Both the number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate continued to decline in early 2022. From spring through the rest of the year, however, both measures held fairly steady. This general pattern held across most major demographic groups. The number of unemployed people was 5.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, down by roughly 900,000 from a year earlier.  The unemployment rate averaged 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is 0.6 percentage point below the rate in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See table 1.) With the continued improvement in 2022, the unemployment rate returned to its prepandemic rate. (See chart 1.)

Unemployment declined among men and women in 2022. The jobless rates for both men and women fell by 0.6 percentage point over the year, each averaging 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter. At the end of the year, the jobless rate for each group matched its prepandemic level. (See table 1.)

Unemployment rates decreased for all major race and ethnicity groups

The unemployment rates for all race and ethnicity groups declined in 2022. The jobless rate for Blacks fell by 1.3 percentage points, to 5.8 percent, and the rate for Asians fell by 1.2 percentage points, to 2.7 percent. The jobless rate for Hispanics declined by 1.1 percentage points, to 4.1 percent, and the rate for Whites fell by 0.4 percentage point, to 3.2 percent. Even with these improvements, the unemployment rates for Blacks and Hispanics remained considerably higher than the rates for Asians and Whites. (See chart 2.)

Jobless rates declined for people of prime working age and older age groups

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds changed little in 2022. Within this age group, the jobless rate for teenagers (those ages 16 to 19) changed little over the year, remaining below its prepandemic level. The jobless rate for young adults (those ages 20 to 24) also changed little over the year, but it remained above its prepandemic level. The unemployment rate for teenagers, at 10.9 percent, continued to be higher than the rate for young adults, at 7.0 percent. (See table 2.)

The unemployment rate for people of prime working age (those 25 to 54) declined over the year, to 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter, returning to its prepandemic level. The unemployment rates for both men and women of prime working age declined over the year, down to levels seen in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The unemployment rate for workers ages 55 and older was 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, down by 0.7 percentage point over the year.⁵ The jobless rates for men and women in this age group differed little from each other, at 2.6 percent for men and 2.5 percent for women. By the fourth quarter of the year, the rates for both groups differed little from the rates recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.

Jobless rates decreased over the year for people at all major educational attainment levels

Among workers ages 25 and older, jobless rates across all major educational attainment levels declined in 2022. The unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma declined by 0.9 percentage point over the year, to 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter. The rate for high school graduates with no college fell by 1.2 percentage points, to 3.8 percent by the end of 2022, the steepest drop among the educational attainment categories. The jobless rate for people with some college or an associate’s degree, at 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter, decreased by 0.8 percentage point over the year. The jobless rate for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher, at 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, was 0.3 percentage point lower than it was a year earlier. As in the past, jobless rates in 2022 were much lower for people with higher levels of education than for those with less education. (See chart 3 and table 3.)

About 1 in 5 unemployed people had been jobless for 27 weeks or longer

The number of long-term unemployed people (those who were jobless for 27 weeks or longer) declined to 1.2 million by the end of 2022. This group accounted for 19.5 percent of the total number of unemployed people in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.⁶ At the end of 2022, the number of long-term unemployed people and its share of total unemployment were little different from their levels before the pandemic. (See table 4 and chart 4.)

After reaching a record high of 4.5 million (not seasonally adjusted) in the second quarter of 2010, the number of people unemployed for 52 weeks or longer declined for nearly a decade. At the onset of the pandemic-related surge in unemployment in the second quarter of 2020, the number of people in this group, at 556,000, was the lowest it had been since 2003. The initial surge in unemployment continued to move through the longer duration categories for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. The number of those unemployed for 52 weeks or longer declined by 756,000 from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022, settling at 729,000. The group’s share of total unemployment fell from 23.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 13.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, nearly returning to its prepandemic share (12.8 percent).

Number of people unemployed because they lost their job continued to decline

Unemployed people are grouped by their reasons for unemployment. People are unemployed because they either (1) were on temporary layoff, permanently lost their job, or completed a temporary job (job losers); (2) voluntarily left their job (job leavers); (3) reentered the labor force (reentrants); or (4) entered the labor force for the first time (new entrants).

The number of job losers and those who completed temporary jobs rose to an unprecedented level during the COVID-19 pandemic, surging to 17.7 million in the second quarter of 2020. (This was the highest quarterly average in the history of the data series, which began in 1967.) This number then declined markedly, a pattern that continued in 2022. The number of job losers averaged 2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, roughly in line with its prepandemic level. (See table 4 and chart 5.)

Most of the increase in the number of job losers in the second quarter of 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, consisted of people on temporary layoff.⁷ The number of unemployed people on temporary layoff then fell sharply, returning to its prepandemic level by the end of 2021, and subsequently held at about this level throughout most of 2022.

The number of unemployed people not on temporary layoff, a group consisting mostly of permanent job losers, was 1.9 million at the end of 2022, accounting for 31.9 percent of the total number of unemployed people. This measure continued to decline during the first half of 2022, and by the end of the year, it was roughly at its prepandemic level. The number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force, at 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, declined by 301,000 over the year. Reentrants are people who had been in the labor force previously, had spent time out of the labor force, and were actively seeking work once again. Reentrants accounted for 30.9 percent of unemployed people at the end of 2022.

The number of unemployed job leavers—that is, people who voluntarily left their jobs—changed little over the year, averaging 838,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The number of new entrants to the labor force also changed little over the year, at 516,000 in the fourth quarter.

Unemployment declined the most in service occupations

From 2021 to 2022, the unemployment rate decreased for all five major occupational categories. (Data are annual averages.) The jobless rate for service occupations had the sharpest decrease, declining by 3.0 percentage points, to 4.8 percent in 2022. Within this category, food preparation and serving related occupations, with a jobless rate of 5.7 percent, and personal care and service occupations, with a jobless rate of 4.1 percent, had the largest declines in 2022. The jobless rates also declined for production, transportation, and material moving occupations (4.9 percent); natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (4.4 percent); sales and office occupations (3.7 percent); and management, professional, and related occupations (2.0 percent). (See table 5.)

All six alternative measures of labor underutilization declined

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regularly publishes six alternative measures of labor underutilization.⁸ These measures, known as U-1 through U-6 (U-3 is the official unemployment rate), tend to show similar cyclical patterns, but the alternative measures provide additional insight into the degree to which labor resources are being underutilized. (See the box that follows for more information about the six measures of labor underutilization.)

Each of the six measures of labor underutilization decreased from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022. U-2 (1.6 percent) and U-6 (6.7 percent) recorded their lowest levels since the current range of measures was introduced in 1994. Among the other measures, U-1 declined by 0.7 percentage point over the year, to 1.2 percent; U-3 fell by 0.6 percentage point, to 3.6 percent; and U-5 decreased by 0.8 percentage point, to 4.4 percent. (See chart 6.) In the fourth quarter of 2022, U-5 was the only measure to remain above its prepandemic level. The other five measures were either at or below the levels recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Labor force status flows showed an improvement in unemployment

A great deal of underlying movement contributes to the relatively small over-the-month net changes that typically occur in the different labor force statuses. These gross movements are captured by data on labor force flows, which show that millions of people move between employment and unemployment each month, while millions of others leave or enter the labor force.⁹ In 2022, 16.1 million people, or 6.1 percent of the population, changed their labor force status in an average month. Examining the current status (employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force) of people who were unemployed in the previous month provides a greater understanding of unemployment in 2022.

Historically, unemployed people have been more likely to remain unemployed from one month to the next than to either find employment or leave the labor force. The likelihood of unemployed people remaining unemployed tends to decrease during labor market recoveries. The share of unemployed people who remained unemployed was 45.7 percent in December 2022 (calculated as a 3-month moving average), which is below its value of 48.3 percent at the end of 2021. In December 2022, 29.2 percent of people who were unemployed a month earlier found work, while 25.1 percent stopped looking for work and left the labor force. These two measures were slightly above their levels of 27.9 and 23.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. (See chart 7.)

Number of people not in the labor force who wanted a job changed little

People who are neither employed nor unemployed are classified as not in the labor force. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of people not in the labor force was 100.0 million, little changed from a year earlier. Most people who are not in the labor force do not want a job (about 95 percent at the end of 2022).¹⁰ At the end of 2022, there were 5.5 million people outside the labor force who indicated they wanted a job.¹¹ Although this measure had declined since the 2020 recession, it was still above its prepandemic level of 4.8 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.¹² (See table 6.)

Among people not in the labor force who currently want a job, those classified as marginally attached to the labor force numbered 1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, higher than the level in the fourth quarter of 2019. These individuals wanted a job, had searched for work sometime in the previous year, and were available to work if a job had been offered to them. (Still, they were not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.) Among the marginally attached, people currently not looking for work because they felt that no jobs were available for them are defined as discouraged workers. The number of discouraged workers edged down because of population controls in 2022 and stood at 396,000 in the fourth quarter. (See chart 8.)

Overall labor force participation rate changed little  

The overall labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, held steady over the year (after accounting for the effects of the annual population controls introduced at the beginning of the year). The participation rate fell precipitously with the onset of the pandemic, but then it rebounded quickly and continued to trend up in 2021. However, the upward trend faded in early 2022, and by the end of the year, the participation rate was still more than a full percentage point below its prepandemic value.

Labor force participation showed little movement for most race and ethnicity groups

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, the labor force participation rates for Whites (62.0 percent), Hispanics (66.0 percent), and Asians (64.6 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2022 were about in line with their year-earlier figures. However, the labor force participation rate for Blacks, at 62.3 percent in the fourth quarter, rose markedly over the year.

Labor force participation increased for people of prime working age

After a steep pandemic-related decline, the labor force participation rate for prime-working-age people, those ages 25 to 54, increased in 2021 and then continued to trend up in 2022, averaging 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Despite this upward trend, the group’s labor force participation rate remained below its prepandemic value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 (82.9 percent). (See table 2.)

The labor force participation rate for older workers, those 55 years and older, declined in 2022 (after accounting for population controls), averaging 38.8 percent in the fourth quarter and remaining well below its value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 (40.3 percent). Recent research indicates that the shortfall in the overall U.S. labor force participation rate relative to its prepandemic level is partly due to excess retirements among older workers.¹³

For younger workers, those ages 16 to 24, the labor force participation rate showed little movement in 2022, averaging 55.7 percent in the fourth quarter, not much different from a year earlier.

Employment growth continued

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of employed people averaged 158.8 million. While employment growth continued in 2022 (after accounting for the effects of annual population controls introduced at the beginning of the year), the pace of job growth slowed from that observed in 2021. The employment–population ratio (the percentage of the population ages 16 and older who are employed) increased in 2022, but it remained below its level recorded for the fourth quarter of 2019. From the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022, employment increased for both men and women. The employment–population ratio increased for men but changed little for women. (See table 1 and chart 9.)

Employment–population ratio rose sharply for Blacks

Employment rose for all major race and ethnicity groups in 2022. The employment–population ratio for Blacks increased sharply over the year. At 58.7 percent in the fourth quarter, this ratio was up about 2 percentage points from a year earlier. The employment–population ratios for Whites (60.0 percent in the fourth quarter), Hispanics (63.3 percent), and Asians (62.9 percent) showed little change over the year. (See table 1.)

Employment expanded for people of prime working age and older age groups  

Employment for prime-working-age people, those ages 25 to 54, increased in 2022. The employment–population ratio for this group increased over the year, to 79.9 percent in the fourth quarter, which is slightly below the prepandemic value of 80.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

The number of employed people ages 55 and older increased in 2022, with men accounting for much of that increase. The employment–population ratio for older workers was 37.8 percent in the fourth quarter, not much different from a year earlier (after taking population controls into account).

Employment for younger workers, those ages 16 to 24, changed little in 2022. While employment grew for people ages 16 to 19, it was essentially unchanged for 20-to 24-year-olds. The employment–population ratio for people ages 16 to 24 was 51.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, little different from the value of 51.4 percent in the fourth quarter in 2021.

Employment growth was strongest for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher

For people ages 25 and older, employment among those with less than a high school diploma (8.5 million) and the employment–population ratio for that group (43.5 percent) were essentially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022 (after accounting for population controls). Employment for high school graduates with no college (33.9 million) and their employment–population ratio (53.8 percent) changed little over the year. Employment among people with some college or an associate’s degree (34.7 million) changed little over the year, and the employment–population ratio for this group (60.8 percent) was essentially unchanged in 2022. Employment among people with a bachelor’s degree and higher increased over the year, rising to 61.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The employment–population ratio for this group, at 71.2 percent in the fourth quarter, was little changed from a year earlier. (See table 3.)

Employment increased for several major occupational groups

In 2022, employment in management, professional, and related occupations increased to 68.1 million. This category accounted for the largest increase in employment of the major occupational groups. (Data are annual averages.) Employment in management, professional, and related occupations made up 43.0 percent of the total number of employed people in 2022. (See table 7.)

Employment in service occupations increased to 25.4 million in 2022. Employment in this occupational group remained below its 2019 prepandemic level. Within the service occupational group, employment in food preparation and serving related occupations increased to 7.9 million. Employment in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (14.3 million) showed little change from the 2021 average. Similarly, employment in sales and office occupations (30.4 million) showed little change. At the same time, the number of employed workers in production, transportation, and material moving occupations increased to 20.1 million.

Number of self-employed workers was little changed

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of nonagricultural self-employed workers, at 9.1 million, changed little over the year. This is in contrast to the employment increase of nonagricultural self-employed workers in 2021.¹⁴ The nonagricultural self-employment rate (the proportion of total nonagricultural employment made up of self-employed workers) was 5.8 percent at the end of 2022, down from 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. (See table 8 and chart 10.)

Number of people employed part time for economic reasons fell below its prepandemic level

The number of people who worked part time for economic reasons (those who worked less than 35 hours per week but would have preferred full-time employment, also referred to as involuntary part-time employment) was 3.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, slightly below prepandemic levels.¹⁵ Historically, slack work or unfavorable business conditions, rather than an inability to find full-time work, has been the primary reason for involuntarily working part time. The number of involuntary part-time workers has been decreasing since it reached a high of 10.2 million in the second quarter of 2020. (See chart 11.)

At the end of 2022, men continued to make up slightly more than half of all involuntary part-time workers. The number of men who worked part time for economic reasons decreased from the fourth quarter of 2021 to 2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Over the same period, the number of women working part time for economic reasons decreased to 1.6 million. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Unemployment rate for veterans continues to decline

There were 18.3 million veterans in the civilian noninstitutional population in the fourth quarter of 2022. The largest share of veterans (33.5 percent) served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam-era (6.1 million). Veterans who served during Gulf War-era II accounted for the second-largest share of the veteran population, at 5.0 million, and there were 3.2 million veterans who served during Gulf War-era I. Also, there were 3.9 million veterans who served on active duty outside these designated wartime periods. Among veterans from all service periods, women accounted for 11.1 percent of the total veteran population in the fourth quarter of 2022.¹⁶ (See table 9.)

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate for all veterans was 2.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted). This fourth quarter rate is 0.8 percentage point lower than the previous year’s rate and 7.0 percentage points lower from its peak in the second quarter of 2020 (9.8 percent). In comparison, the jobless rate for nonveterans declined by 0.6 percentage point to 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The labor force participation rate for veterans increased over the year to 48.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the rate for nonveterans changed little, at 64.6 percent. Labor force participation rates, for veterans and nonveterans, tend to be lower for older people than they are for people of prime working age. For instance, the labor force participation rate for those who served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam-era, who are all over age 60, was 15.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, little changed from the year prior. In contrast, Gulf War-era II veterans, who tend to be younger, had a much higher participation rate, 80.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, also little changed from a year earlier.

Labor market improved for both people with and people with no disability

Although the job market remains especially challenging for people with a disability, the employment situation for this group showed some improvement in 2022. In the fourth quarter, their labor force participation rate was little changed, at 23.7 percent; however, their employment–population ratio increased to 22.3 percent. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Among people with no disability, the labor force participation rate was 67.6 percent, and the employment–population ratio was 65.4 percent. (See table 10.)

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate for people with a disability reached its lowest level (6.1 percent) since collection of these data began in 2008.¹⁷ But the unemployment rate for people with a disability continues to be substantially higher than the unemployment rate for people with no disability (3.2 percent).

Unemployment rate for the foreign-born population slightly lower than that of the native-born population

The foreign-born population accounted for 18.5 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force ages 16 years and older in the fourth quarter of 2022, up from 17.8 percent a year earlier. Over the year, both the foreign-born and native-born populations saw a decrease in their unemployment rates, to 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.¹⁸ (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) The employment–population ratios for foreign-born workers (64.0 percent) and native-born workers (59.2 percent) edged up over the year. (See table 11.)

Foreign-born workers continued to have a higher labor force participation rate than native-born workers in 2022. The labor force participation rates for foreign-born (66.1 percent) and native-born workers (61.3 percent) were little changed over the year.

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers increased but did not keep pace with inflation

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers were $1,059 in 2022, up by 6.1 percent from 2021.¹⁹ (Data are annual averages.) During the same period, inflation was 8.0 percent, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Real median usual weekly earnings (adjusted with the use of the CPI-U) declined 1.6 percent from 2021.²⁰ (See table 12.) Women’s median weekly earnings were $958 in 2022; this was 83.0 percent of men’s median weekly earnings ($1,154). In 1979, the first year for which comparable data on usual weekly earnings are available, women’s earnings were 62.3 percent of men’s earnings. (See chart 12.)

Median weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 64. By age group, median weekly earnings were $1,297 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,336 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,294 for men ages 55 to 64. Women’s median weekly earnings were also highest for workers ages 35 to 64. Median weekly earnings were $1,065 for women ages 35 to 44, $1,058 for women ages 45 to 54, and $1,007 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, $713 and $656, respectively. Men's and women's earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers. For example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 92.0 percent as much as men in the same age group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 73.1 percent for those ages 65 and over. (See chart 13.)

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings increased for all groups. From 2021 to 2022, earnings increased (in nominal terms) by 9.6 percent for Blacks ($878), 6.6 percent for Whites ($1,085), 5.9 percent for Hispanics ($823), and 5.5 percent for Asians ($1,401). (See table 12.) The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity; the ratio was higher among Blacks and Hispanics. For example, White women earned 83.0 percent as much as White men; Black women earned 90.7 percent as much as Black men; Asian women earned 79.2 percent as much as Asian men; and Hispanic women earned 85.8 percent as much as Hispanic men.

Among workers ages 25 years and older, those with less than a high school diploma had the largest over-the-year increase in median weekly earnings in comparison with other educational attainment groups. Earnings for workers with less than a high school diploma ($682) rose by 8.9 percent from 2021 to 2022. (See table 12.)

Among the major occupational groups, people employed full time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings in 2022: $1,726 for men and $1,284 for women. As has historically been the case, men ($767) and women ($643) employed in service occupations earned the least among the major occupational groups in 2022. (See table 13.)

Summary

In 2022, the labor market continued to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and several labor market measures returned to their prepandemic levels. Over the year, the national unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent, which was down 0.6 percentage point from 2021. Total employment continued to expand; the employment–population ratio increased from the previous year, but the labor force participation rate changed little. The jobless rate declined for all major race and ethnicity groups. The number of people working part time for economic reasons also declined over the year. Median usual weekly earnings increased to $1,059 in 2022; this was 6.1 percent higher than earnings in 2021, but the increase did not keep pace with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Appendix A: The CPS and the CES

BLS produces two monthly employment series obtained from two different surveys: an estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, also called the establishment or payroll survey; and an estimate of total civilian employment, derived from 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 methods. 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 people ages 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population.

Employment estimates from the CPS provide information about workers in both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and in all types of work arrangements: workers with wage and salary jobs (including employment in a private household), workers who are self-employed, and workers doing unpaid work for at least 15 hours per 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, workers who hold multiple jobs (referred to as “multiple jobholders”) are counted only once, regardless of how many jobs these workers held during the survey reference period. By contrast, because the CES survey counts the number of jobs rather than the number of people, each nonfarm job is counted separately, even when two or more jobs are held by the same person.

The reference periods for the surveys also differ. In the CPS, the reference period is generally 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 longer reference periods.

For more information on the two monthly employment measures, see “Comparing employment from the BLS household and payroll surveys,” Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last modified February 3, 2023), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.htm.

Appendix B: Adjustments to population estimates for the CPS

Updated population controls for the CPS are introduced annually with the publication of January data in The Employment Situation news release. The change in population reflected in the estimates introduced in January 2022 is based on a blended 2020 population base, which combines population totals from the 2020 census and demographic characteristics from other sources. Consequently, data for 2022 are not strictly comparable to those for earlier years. For the analysis presented in this article, the effects of the updated population controls have been taken into account.

The adjustment increased the estimated size of the civilian noninstitutional population in December 2021 by 973,000, the civilian labor force by 1,530,000, employment by 1,471,000, and unemployment by 59,000. People not in the labor force decreased by 557,000. Although the adjustment did not affect the total unemployment rate, it did increase the labor force participation rate and the employment–population ratio, each by 0.3 percentage point. These increases were due mostly to an increase in the population in age groups that participate in the labor force at high rates (those ages 35 to 64) and a large decrease in the population ages 65 and older, whose members participate in the labor force at a low rate.

For additional information on the population adjustments and their effect on national labor force estimates, see “Adjustments to household survey population estimates in January 2022” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2022), https://www.bls.gov/cps/population-control-adjustments-2022.pdf.