2002 Work Experience of the Population — 2003-12-19

A total of 150.8 million persons worked at some point during 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment during the year rose to 16.8 million in 2002, 968,000 higher than the year before. These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional information about the CPS and the annual supplement, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note. Highlights from the 2002 data include: --The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years old and over that worked at some time during the year was 68.4 percent in 2002, down from 69.3 percent the year before.