Labor Market Information

Labor Force Estimates

Employment and Unemployment Concepts and Definitions

---

Employment - People are considered employed if they did any work at all for pay or profit, including part-time or temporary work as well as regular full-time work. Persons who have jobs but who are not at work are also considered employed, including people who were on vacation, ill, involved in an industrial dispute, prevented from working by bad weather, or taking time off for personal reasons. Because employment is a count of people, not jobs, a person who works at two jobs is counted only once.

Unemployment - Counts of unemployment include persons 16 years of age and older who do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and currently available for work. "Looking for work" may include any of the following activities:

• Registering at a public or private employment office
• Meeting with prospective employers
• Checking with friends and relatives
• Placing or answering advertisements
• Writing letters of application
• Being on a union or professional register

Also considered unemployed are persons who are waiting to start a new job with 30 days and persons who are on layoff, even if they are not looking for work. The definition of unemployment assumes no prior experience; persons who meet the definition (that is, not employed, looking for work, and available for work) are considered unemployed even if they have never worked before.

Labor Force - The labor force includes the employed and unemployed. Anyone who neither has a job nor is looking for one is not in the labor force.

Unemployment Rate - The unemployment rate is unemployment expressed as a percent of the labor force.

Workforce Information Database Home