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Labor force participation rate

The share of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over that is working or looking for work.

It's the labor force as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, from the household survey. Source 1

People who want a job but haven't looked in the past four weeks aren't in the labor force, so the unemployment rate doesn't count them. Source 2

Related terms

Where it comes up

Sources

  1. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Current Population Survey: concepts and definitions (opens in a new tab)
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How the government measures unemployment (opens in a new tab)

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