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Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor forceemploymentunemployment, persons not in the labor forcehours of workearnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

Notices

  • Discontinuation of the Commissioner’s Statement (CPS) Read More »
  • Changes to 2023 CPS public-use microdata files Read More »
  • Supplemental data measuring the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market Read More »

Charts

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Latest Numbers

RSS
Seasonally Adjusted

Unemployment Rate: 3.5% in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Change in Unemployment Level: -278,000 in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Change in Employment Level: +717,000 in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Change in Civilian Labor Force Level: +439,000 in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: 62.3% in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Employment-Population Ratio: 60.1% in Dec 2022 Historical Data

Annual Averages

Unemployment Rate: 3.6% for 2022 Historical Data

Unemployment Level: 5,996,000 for 2022 Historical Data

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News Releases

Payroll employment increases by 223,000 in December; unemployment rate edges down to 3.5%

01/06/2023

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance.
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Union membership rate 10.1% in 2022, down from 10.3% in 2021

01/19/2023

The union membership rate was 10.1 percent in 2022, down from 10.3 percent the prior year. In 2022, the number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions increased by 273,000 to 14.3 million.
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Next Release

The Employment Situation for January 2023 is scheduled to be released on February 3, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Publications

The Economics Daily

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Median earnings for women in 2022 were 83.0 percent of the median for men

In 2022, median weekly earnings for wage and salary workers who usually worked full time were $1,059. Median earnings for women were $958, or 83.0 percent of men’s earnings. read more »

BLS Reports

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Labor force characteristics by race and ethnicity, 2021

The Race and Ethnicity report describes the labor force characteristics and earnings patterns among the largest race and ethnicity groups living in the United States—Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics—and provides detailed data through a set of supporting tables. read more »

Monthly Labor Review

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U.S. labor market shows improvement in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on the economy

The U.S. labor market continued to recover in 2021 from the recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The number of people who were unemployed and the unemployment rate decreased over the year, but both measures remained above their prepandemic levels. read more »

Spotlight on Statistics

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Demographic Changes in Employment during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This Spotlight on Statistics compares employment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for men and women and for different racial and ethnic groups, age groups, and other worker characteristics. read more »

Beyond the Numbers

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How do jobseekers search for jobs? New data on applications, interviews, and job offers

How successful are jobseekers in finding jobs? How many applications does it take to get an interview? How likely is a job offer after an interview? Are job offers accepted or turned down? Data on job search are typically not available for large representative samples or do not address all of these questions. However, data have become available that quantify job-seeking activity at a specific time during a person’s unemployment spell. read more »