2004 Work Experience of the Population — 2005-12-22

A total of 152.2 million persons worked at some point during 2004, 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 up slightly from 2003. The number of persons who experienced some unemployment in 2004 fell by 1.4 million from 2003, to 15.1 million. (See tables 1 and 3.) 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 Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ASEC collects information on employment and unemploy- ment experienced during the prior calendar year. Additional information a- bout the CPS and the ASEC, including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note.