Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-512
606-6373
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, December 17, 1996
WORK EXPERIENCE IN 1995
In 1995, about 139.0 million persons worked at some time during the
year, according to data from the annual survey of work experience released
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This
level was about 1.4 million higher than a year earlier. The proportion of
persons who worked in 1995 was 69.5 percent, the same as in 1994. Nearly
four-fifths of those employed during 1995 worked full time--that is, they
usually worked 35 hours or more a week--and about 7 in 10 were employed
year round (50 to 52 weeks). (See the Explanatory Note for a description
of the survey and concepts.)
During 1995, 18.1 million workers experienced at least one week of
unemployment. About 15.4 million of those, or about 85 percent, also
worked at some time during the year. Unemployment, both as a level and as
a share of those participating in the labor force, was lower than it was in
1994.
Persons with Employment
Over the past three decades, the share of all persons who had some work
experience during the year has trended upward. In 1966, 66.9 percent of
all persons (age 16 years and older) had a job during the year compared
with a high of 70.3 percent in 1989. In the recessionary period of the
early 1990s, the proportion of persons with some work activity declined, as
was the case in prior periods of economic contraction. As the economy
again began to generate substantial employment growth, the share of persons
with employment rose to 69.5 percent in 1994 and remained at that level in
1995. Over the longer period, the share of men with employment has trended
downward, from 85.4 percent in 1966 to 76.8 percent in 1995. In contrast,
women’s work activity rose during the period--their employment rate
increased from 50.4 to 62.8 percent.
Of the 139.0 million persons who worked at some time during 1995, nearly
8 in 10 were employed full time. This share has trended downward since the
mid-1960s, as the proportion working 35 hours or more a week has declined
for men while remaining unchanged for women. Nevertheless, in 1995, women
were still less likely than men to work full time during the year, 70.3
versus 86.1 percent. (See table 1.)
In 1995, 7 in 10 persons with work experience worked year round.
Changing work patterns for women have led this share to increase since the
mid-1960s. Working women’s shift to year-round work has been far more
pronounced than their shift to full-time work. Still, as with full-time
employment, women continued to be less likely than men to work year round
in 1995, 67.6 versus 76.0 percent (full- and part-time schedules combined).
In 1995, whites continued to be more likely to work during the year
(70.4 percent) than either blacks (64.1 percent) or Hispanics (66.4
percent). However, the share of workers who were employed either full time
or year round was about the same in these groups. (See table 2.)
- 2 -
Persons with Unemployment
During 1995, 18.1 million persons experienced some unemployment, and the
“work experience” unemployment rate was about 13 percent of all labor force
participants. (See table 3.) In 1992, when the labor market was beginning
to recover from the 1990-91 recession, nearly 16 percent of all labor force
participants had some unemployment. During the recessionary periods of the
mid-1970s and early 1980s, as much as 20 percent of workers experienced
some unemployment.
During 1995, 14.9 percent of labor force participants who experienced
unemployment did not work at all during the year. This ratio has declined
since 1993, when it was 16.7 percent, reflecting the residual effects of
the 1990-91 recession. However, it has not fallen to the 1989 level
registered just prior to the recession (9.1 percent).
Some labor force participants experience multiple periods of
unemployment during the year. Among persons who worked during the year and
also experienced unemployment, 29.1 percent had at least two spells of
joblessness. This proportion fluctuates with the business cycle but since
the late 1960s, the proportion has generally remained at about one-third of
all jobless persons who also had employment during the year. The median
number of weeks spent looking for work during 1995 was 13.7, the same as in
the prior year.
The "work experience" unemployment rate continued to be much higher for
blacks and Hispanics in 1995--19.0 and 17.9 percent, respectively--than for
whites (11.9 percent). In addition, whites had the shortest duration of
unemployment and the smallest proportion of workers with multiple spells of
unemployment during the year. (See table 4.)
- 3 -
Explanatory Note
Data collection
The data presented in this release were collected in March supplements
to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Data from the CPS are used to obtain the monthly
estimates of the nation’s employment and unemployment levels. Each March,
additional questions are asked about work activity during the prior
calendar year. For instance, data collected in March 1996 refer to the
1995 calendar year. Because the reference period is a full year, the
number of persons with some employment or unemployment greatly exceeds the
average levels for any given month, which are based on a 1-week reference
period, and the corresponding annual average of the monthly estimates. As
shown below, for example, the number experiencing any unemployment during
1995 was about 2-1/2 times the number unemployed in an average month during
the year.
Employed Unemployed
1995 estimates (in thousands)
Annual average of monthly estimates 124,900 7,404
March supplement data 138,971 18,063
In addition, estimates from the March supplement differ from those
obtained in the basic CPS because the questions used to classify workers as
either employed or unemployed are different. More important, perhaps, is
that fewer questions are asked in the supplement by which to categorize
respondents. In particular, the March supplement has no questions on the
type of job search activity or on the respondent’s availability to work.
In January 1994, a major redesign of the CPS was introduced,
incorporating a completely revised basic questionnaire and an automated
data collection process. In addition, 1990 census-based population
controls, adjusted for the estimated undercount were incorporated into the
estimation process. (New population controls are introduced after each
decennial census.) Questions used in the March supplement were not changed
as part of the redesign. As a result, only the change in collection
technology and the introduction of the 1990 population controls would
affect comparisons of 1995 work experience data with that collected prior
to 1994. The impact of the change in collection technology is difficult to
gauge, but at this point is believed to be negligible; the change in
population controls does affect the estimated levels, but has little impact
on percentages.
Concepts and definitions
Persons who worked. A person is considered in the March supplement to
have worked if they respond "yes" to either the question "Did you work at a
job or business at any time during 1995?" or "Did you do any temporary,
part-time, or seasonal work even for a few days during 1995?"
Unemployed persons. Persons who worked during the year but not in every
week are counted as unemployed if they also reported looking for work or
being on layoff from a job during the year. Those who reported no work
activity during the year are considered unemployed if they respond "yes" to
the question "Even though you did not work in 1995, did you spend any time
trying to find a job or on layoff?"
Labor force participants. Persons who either worked or were unemployed
during the year.
Usual full- and part-time employment. These data refer to the number of
hours a worker typically works during most weeks of the year. Workers are
classified as full time if they usually work 35 hours or more in a week;
part-time employment refers to workers whose typical workweek is between 1
and 34 hours.
Year-round and part-year employment. Workers are classified as year
round if they work 50 to 52 weeks a year. Part-year employment refers to
workers who work fewer than 50 weeks a year.
Table 1. Work experience of the population during the year by sex and extent of employment, 1994-95
Total Men Women
Extent of employment
1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995
Numbers (in thousands)
Civilian noninstitutional population............................ 198,022 199,925 94,894 95,867 103,128 104,058
Total who worked or looked for work........................... 140,441 141,659 74,418 74,982 66,023 66,677
Percent of the population................................... 70.9 70.9 78.4 78.2 64.0 64.1
Total who worked during the year(1)........................... 137,584 138,971 73,132 73,667 64,452 65,304
Percent of the population................................... 69.5 69.5 77.1 76.8 62.5 62.8
Full time(2)................................................ 107,271 109,329 62,815 63,446 44,456 45,882
50 to 52 weeks............................................ 84,930 87,446 50,796 51,976 34,134 35,471
48 to 49 weeks............................................ 2,325 2,363 1,375 1,349 950 1,014
40 to 47 weeks............................................ 5,548 5,522 2,956 2,877 2,593 2,645
27 to 39 weeks............................................ 5,157 5,081 2,744 2,744 2,413 2,336
14 to 26 weeks............................................ 5,336 5,041 2,872 2,576 2,464 2,465
1 to 13 weeks............................................. 3,975 3,876 2,073 1,925 1,903 1,951
Part time(3)................................................ 30,313 29,643 10,317 10,221 19,996 19,422
50 to 52 weeks............................................ 12,929 12,711 3,945 4,023 8,984 8,688
48 to 49 weeks............................................ 827 888 239 276 588 611
40 to 47 weeks............................................ 2,764 2,787 1,004 870 1,760 1,917
27 to 39 weeks............................................ 3,362 3,155 1,113 1,109 2,249 2,045
14 to 26 weeks............................................ 4,823 4,742 1,786 1,789 3,037 2,953
1 to 13 weeks............................................. 5,607 5,360 2,230 2,153 3,377 3,207
Percent distribution
Total who worked during the year(1)............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Full time(2).................................................. 78.0 78.7 85.9 86.1 69.0 70.3
50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 61.7 62.9 69.5 70.6 53.0 54.3
48 to 49 weeks.............................................. 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.5 1.6
40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.1
27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.6
14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.9 3.6 3.9 3.5 3.8 3.8
1 to 13 weeks............................................... 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.0
Part time(3).................................................. 22.0 21.3 14.1 13.9 31.0 29.7
50 to 52 weeks.............................................. 9.4 9.1 5.4 5.5 13.9 13.3
48 to 49 weeks.............................................. .6 .6 .3 .4 .9 .9
40 to 47 weeks.............................................. 2.0 2.0 1.4 1.2 2.7 2.9
27 to 39 weeks.............................................. 2.4 2.3 1.5 1.5 3.5 3.1
14 to 26 weeks.............................................. 3.5 3.4 2.4 2.4 4.7 4.5
1 to 13 weeks............................................... 4.1 3.9 3.0 2.9 5.2 4.9
1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week.
3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over.
Table 2. Work experience of the population during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1994-95
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Extent of employment, race, and Hispanc origin
1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 166,367 167,865 80,365 81,253 86,002 86,612
Total who worked or looked for work......................... 118,793 119,833 63,774 64,289 55,019 55,545
Percent of the population................................. 71.4 71.4 79.4 79.1 64.0 64.1
Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 116,853 118,107 62,886 63,478 53,968 54,630
Percent of the population................................. 70.2 70.4 78.2 78.1 62.8 63.1
Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Full time(2).............................................. 77.7 78.2 86.2 86.2 67.9 68.9
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 61.8 62.8 70.0 71.0 52.2 53.3
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.5 9.3 9.6 9.4 9.2 9.1
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 6.5 6.1 6.6 5.8 6.4 6.5
Part time(3).............................................. 22.3 21.8 13.8 13.8 32.1 31.1
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 9.7 9.5 5.3 5.5 14.8 14.1
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 5.2 5.1 3.2 3.1 7.4 7.4
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 7.4 7.2 5.2 5.1 9.9 9.7
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 23,146 23,482 10,365 10,515 12,781 12,967
Total who worked or looked for work......................... 15,648 15,855 7,363 7,567 8,285 8,288
Percent of the population................................. 67.6 67.5 71.0 72.0 64.8 63.9
Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 14,903 15,059 7,036 7,153 7,867 7,905
Percent of the population................................. 64.4 64.1 67.9 68.0 61.6 61.0
Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Full time(2).............................................. 79.2 81.8 83.3 85.3 75.5 78.6
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 61.4 63.4 65.7 66.3 57.6 60.7
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 9.5 10.1 10.0 10.3 9.1 9.9
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.2 8.3 7.7 8.7 8.7 8.0
Part time(3).............................................. 20.8 18.2 16.7 14.7 24.5 21.4
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 7.4 7.1 6.1 5.1 8.7 8.9
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 4.5 3.6 3.1 2.7 5.7 4.4
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 8.9 7.5 7.5 6.8 10.2 8.1
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population.......................... 18,459 19,028 9,249 9,518 9,210 9,510
Total who worked or looked for work......................... 12,649 13,081 7,394 7,640 5,255 5,442
Percent of the population................................. 68.5 68.7 79.9 80.3 57.1 57.2
Total who worked during the year(1)......................... 12,228 12,627 7,200 7,422 5,028 5,205
Percent of the population................................. 66.2 66.4 77.9 78.0 54.6 54.7
Percent who worked during the year(1)....................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Full time(2).............................................. 80.1 81.2 85.8 87.0 71.9 73.0
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 59.8 60.9 65.8 66.2 51.2 53.2
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 10.7 10.7 11.3 11.7 10.0 9.3
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 9.5 9.6 8.8 9.0 10.7 10.5
Part time(3).............................................. 19.9 18.8 14.2 13.0 28.1 27.0
50 to 52 weeks.......................................... 7.9 8.1 5.2 5.2 11.8 12.4
27 to 49 weeks.......................................... 4.5 3.3 3.6 2.3 5.7 4.6
1 to 26 weeks........................................... 7.6 7.4 5.4 5.5 10.6 10.0
1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
2 Usually worked 35 hours or more per week.
3 Usually worked 1 to 34 hours per week.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other
races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer
to persons 16 years and over.
Table 3. Extent of unemployment during the year by sex, 1994-95
Total Men Women
Extent of employment
1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995
Numbers (in thousands)
Total who worked or looked for work............................. 140,441 141,659 74,418 74,982 66,023 66,677
Percent with unemployment..................................... 13.5 12.8 14.2 13.3 12.7 12.1
Total with unemployment....................................... 18,944 18,063 10,565 9,992 8,379 8,070
Did not work but looked for work............................ 2,857 2,688 1,286 1,315 1,570 1,373
1 to 14 weeks............................................. 1,334 1,223 528 482 806 740
15 weeks or more.......................................... 1,523 1,465 758 833 765 633
Worked during the year...................................... 16,087 15,374 9,278 8,677 6,809 6,697
Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment... 746 715 527 462 219 253
Part-year workers(2) with unemployment.................... 15,342 14,660 8,751 8,215 6,590 6,444
1 to 4 weeks............................................ 2,779 2,812 1,361 1,398 1,418 1,413
5 to 10 weeks........................................... 2,975 2,723 1,658 1,432 1,317 1,291
11 to 14 weeks.......................................... 2,263 2,146 1,368 1,253 896 893
15 to 26 weeks.......................................... 4,155 4,013 2,447 2,439 1,708 1,574
27 weeks or more........................................ 3,168 2,965 1,917 1,693 1,251 1,272
Median weeks of unemployment for all workers.................... 13.7 13.7 14.2 14.3 13.0 12.8
With 2 spells or more of unemployment........................... 4,774 4,468 2,934 2,793 1,840 1,675
2 spells...................................................... 2,202 1,963 1,264 1,110 938 853
3 spells or more.............................................. 2,572 2,505 1,670 1,683 902 822
Percent distribution
Did not work but looked for work................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1 to 14 weeks................................................. 46.7 45.5 41.1 36.7 51.3 53.9
15 weeks or more.............................................. 53.3 54.5 58.9 63.3 48.7 46.1
Worked during the year.......................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Year-round workers(1) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment....... 4.6 4.6 5.7 5.3 3.2 3.8
Part-year workers(2) with unemployment........................ 95.4 95.4 94.3 94.7 96.8 96.2
1 to 4 weeks................................................ 17.3 18.3 14.7 16.1 20.8 21.1
5 to 10 weeks............................................... 18.5 17.7 17.9 16.5 19.3 19.3
11 to 14 weeks.............................................. 14.1 14.0 14.7 14.4 13.2 13.3
15 to 26 weeks.............................................. 25.8 26.1 26.4 28.1 25.1 23.5
27 weeks or more............................................ 19.7 19.3 20.7 19.5 18.4 19.0
With 2 spells or more of unemployment......................... 29.7 29.1 31.6 32.2 27.0 25.0
2 spells.................................................... 13.7 12.8 13.6 12.8 13.8 12.7
3 spells or more............................................ 16.0 16.3 18.0 19.4 13.3 12.3
1 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
2 Worked less than 50 weeks.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over.
Table 4. Extent of unemployment during the year by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 1995-96
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Extent of employment, race, and Hispanic origin
1994 1995 1994 1995 1994 1995
WHITE
Total who worked or looked for work........................... 118,793 119,833 63,774 64,289 55,019 55,545
Percent with unemployment................................... 12.7 11.9 13.5 12.4 11.8 11.3
Total with unemployment..................................... 15,086 14,206 8,590 7,950 6,496 6,256
Did not work but looked for work.......................... 1,939 1,726 888 811 1,051 915
Worked during the year.................................... 13,146 12,480 7,702 7,139 5,444 5,341
Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 13.2 13.2 13.7 13.9 12.3 12.1
Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 5.0 4.8 6.1 5.5 3.4 3.9
Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 95.0 95.2 93.9 94.5 96.6 96.1
1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 18.2 18.8 15.3 16.6 22.1 21.8
5 to 14 weeks......................................... 33.4 32.6 33.4 31.7 33.3 33.7
15 weeks or more...................................... 43.5 43.8 45.2 46.2 41.1 40.6
With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 29.2 28.8 31.6 31.6 25.8 25.0
BLACK
Total who worked or looked for work........................... 15,648 15,855 7,363 7,567 8,285 8,288
Percent with unemployment................................... 18.7 19.0 19.8 20.9 17.8 17.3
Total with unemployment..................................... 2,933 3,013 1,458 1,580 1,475 1,433
Did not work but looked for work.......................... 745 797 327 414 417 383
Worked during the year.................................... 2,188 2,217 1,131 1,167 1,057 1,050
Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 18.0 16.5 18.6 17.2 17.1 15.9
Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 2.4 4.0 2.7 4.8 2.0 3.1
Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 97.6 96.0 97.3 95.2 98.0 96.9
1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 12.2 15.1 10.4 12.4 14.1 18.1
5 to 14 weeks......................................... 28.5 27.5 27.7 28.1 29.4 26.9
15 weeks or more...................................... 56.9 53.4 59.2 54.8 54.5 51.9
With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.4 31.1 32.1 34.9 32.7 26.8
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Total who worked or looked for work........................... 12,649 13,081 7,394 7,640 5,255 5,442
Percent with unemployment................................... 17.6 17.9 18.0 18.6 17.0 16.8
Total with unemployment..................................... 2,224 2,335 1,330 1,419 894 916
Did not work but looked for work.......................... 421 454 194 218 227 236
Worked during the year.................................... 1,803 1,881 1,136 1,202 667 679
Median weeks of unemployment for all workers............ 15.5 17.4 15.2 17.2 16.1 17.7
Percent who worked during the year(1)..................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Year-round workers(2) with 1 or 2 weeks of unemployment. 4.1 4.1 5.5 4.6 1.7 3.4
Part-year workers(3) with unemployment.................. 95.9 95.9 94.5 95.4 98.3 96.6
1 to 4 weeks.......................................... 16.3 13.2 15.0 12.6 18.4 14.2
5 to 14 weeks......................................... 28.7 27.4 29.2 27.6 27.8 27.0
15 weeks or more...................................... 51.0 55.3 50.4 55.2 52.1 55.4
With 2 spells or more of unemployment................... 32.7 31.5 33.3 33.4 31.6 28.1
1 Time worked includes paid vacation and sick leave.
2 Worked 50 or 51 weeks.
3 Worked less than 50 weeks.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other
races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data refer
to persons 16 years and over.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contact: (cpsinfo@bls.gov) Division of Labor Force Statistics-BLS
Last revised: January 14, 1997
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/work_95.htm
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