2003 Work Experience of the Population — 2004-12-22

A total of 150.7 million persons worked at some point during 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round was unchanged from the previous 2 years. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment during the year fell by 358,000 from 2002, to 16.4 million. 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 2003 data include: -- The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 years old and over that worked at some time during the year was 67.7 percent in 2003, down from 68.4 percent in 2002.