1998 Work Experience of the Population — 2000-01-31

The total number of persons who worked at some point during the year increased by about 1.6 million in 1998 to 144.8 million, according to the annual survey of work experience released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The number who experienced some unemployment continued to decline--down almost 1.6 million from the previous year, to 14.0 million. These work experience data are from the March 1999 supplement 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. The CPS provides information on the employment status of the population; each March, supplementary questions are added that inquire about work experience during the previous calendar year. Additional information about this annual supplement, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note on page 3.