2018 Work Experience of the Population — 2019-12-03

A total of 166.4 million persons worked at some point during 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over who worked at some time during 2018 was 64.4 percent, little changed from 2017. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment during 2018 declined by 1.3 million to 13.2 million. These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ASEC collects information on employment and unemployment experienced during the prior calendar year. Additional information about the CPS and the ASEC, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note. --The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round in 2018 was 70.4 percent, up 0.9 percentage point from the prior year.