Today's Labor Force

In 2005 nearly three-quarters of the male population and three-fifths of the female population aged sixteen years and older participated in the labor force, according to the BLS in Employment and Earnings (January 2006). The number of men increased from 52.2 million in 1971 to eighty million in 2005, a 53% increase. Among women in the civilian labor force, however, the increase was more dramatic. In 1971, 32.3 million women were employed or seeking employment, compared with 69.3 million in 2005, a 115% increase. These numbers reveal a shift in the proportions of women and men in the labor force: 79.1% of men were counted among the civilian labor force in 1971, compared with 73.3% by 2005. At the same time, the percentage of women participating in the labor force increased from 43.4% in 1971 to 59.3% in 2005. (See Table 1.1.)

A slightly higher percentage of whites (66.3%) were in the labor force in 2005 than Asian-Americans (66.1%) or African-Americans (64.2%), as reported in Employment and Earnings. African-American women over twenty years of age (64.4%) were somewhat more likely to be in the labor force than white or Asian-American women of the same age (59.7% and 60.1%, respectively), while a somewhat higher percentage of white men twenty years and older (76.2%) were in the labor force compared with African-American men (71.3%). Asian-American men twenty years of age and over participated in the labor force at the highest rate in 2005 (78.4%). (See Table 1.2.)

The BLS also reported that Americans between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four were the most likely age group to be working or looking for work in 2005, with 90.5% of men and 75.3% of women in that age group counted among the labor force. The percentage dropped to 69.3% for men and 57% for women among those aged fifty-five to sixty-four. (See Table 1.3.)

Unemployment in 2005 was highest among the youngest workers, with those aged sixteen to nineteen experiencing a rate of 16.6%. The low unemployment rate indicated among those aged fifty-four to sixty-five (3.3% in 2005), compared with the national average of 5.1% for all workers aged sixteen and over, likely indicates that many of the older workers had retired and were no longer in the labor force. (See Table 1.3.) Historically, the exit of older workers from the workforce is the result of various reasons, ranging from disability to a genuine desire to retire. For some people, however, leaving the workforce is not a voluntary act. Elimination of middle management positions and other cost-cutting efforts can disproportionately affect older workers, who generally earn more than younger workers with less experience.

Student Workers

According to 2004 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 41% of American students

TABLE 1.1 Employment status of the population 16 years and over by sex, 1971–2005

TABLE 1.1 Employment status of the population 16 years and over by sex, 1971–2005 (CONTINUED) "2. Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population 16 Years and Over by Sex, 1971 to Date," in Employment and Earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2006, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat2.pdf (accessed January 9, 2006)

were employed while going to school, including 26.6% of those attending high school and 53.6% of those attending college. (See Table 1.4.) In College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2004 High School Graduates, the BLS reported that 31.8% of high school students were engaged in some form of work or job-seeking activity during October 2004. This participation rate represented a significant decline from the 1990s, when typically about 40% of high school students worked at least part-time.