Labor force participation rate

The share of the adult population that is either working or looking for work — how many people are in the job market at all.

What it measures

Everyone aged 16 and over who is not in prison, a nursing home, or the armed forces, and who is either employed or actively looking, as a percentage of that whole population.

How it is measured

The same monthly Current Population Survey that produces the unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted.

Reading it over a presidential term

It moves slowly and trends for decades at a time: up through the 1970s and 1980s as women entered paid work, down since the mid-2000s as the baby boom retires. Over a single term the change is usually small, and a lot of it was already in motion.

What it leaves out

It has no upper age limit, so an ageing population pushes it down no matter what the job market does. It counts participation, not hours, pay, or whether the work is wanted.

Which direction counts as better?

A fall can mean discouraged workers giving up, or it can mean more retirements and more people in school. A rise can mean opportunity, or it can mean households needing a second income. The site does not decide which reading applies to a given term.

Chart this series · See it by president · Download the data · The source at FRED