Labor Force

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Division of Information and Marketing Services, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE Room 2850, Washington, DC 20212. Tel: 202-691-5200; Fax: 202-691-6235; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.bls.gov/ooq

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Labor Force Nonparticipants; Race; Females; Population Growth; Labor Supply; Labor Force; Males; Age Groups; Census Figures; Baby Boomers; Economic Factors; Statistical Distributions; Statistical Data; Population Groups; Employment Projections; Employment; Employment Patterns; Ethnic Groups

0199-4786

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly between men and women and among different age, racial, and ethnic groups. Each group also has varying population growth rates. These variations change the composition of the labor force over time. This article presents charts that show how the labor force is projected to change among age groups, between men and women, among racial groups (Asians, blacks, whites, and others), and among ethnic groups (Hispanics and non-Hispanics of any race). These are the categories that the U.S. Census Bureau uses to produce the demographic data on which the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections are based.

ERIC

2010

EJ875449