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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses a Monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) to generate the national unemployment rate, which includes a sample of approximately 110,000 people in 60,000 households. The BLS assigns individuals to one of three classifications: employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. The monthly unemployment rate is 90% accurate, with a margin of error of 0.04 percentage points.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the United States Department of Labor, issues the national unemployment rate each month, which indicates the total number of people and the percentage of the civilian workforce that were unemployed in the previous month. To generate these numbers, the government conducts a Monthly Current Population Survey (CPS), which consists of a sample of approximately 110,000 people in approximately 60,000 households. Each month, during the week containing the 12th day of the month, Census Bureau interviewers collect information from each household, including a list of family members, dates of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, and educational level. The examiner also compiles data on the employment status of each family member over the age of 16 and classifies them into one of three classifications: employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. After collecting the information, the department extrapolates and evaluates the numbers referring to race, gender, ethnicity, age and residential status to reflect the proportions found across the country, from which the agency derives the national unemployment rate.
The Census Bureau selects each CPS unit carefully to provide a representative cross-sample of the entire United States (US) population. After dividing the US into approximately 2,025 geographic divisions, the agency chooses 824 areas to include in the sample, making sure the sample covers all states, as well as a wide range of industries, farms, rural and urban environments. Each household in the sample provides information for four consecutive months, then turns the sample off for eight months and turns the sample back on for another four months, providing data comparable to the previous year. In any given month, 25% of households in the DPC change, while 75% of the sample gives a national unemployment rate comparable to the previous month, with around 50% comparable to the previous year. The monthly unemployment rate is 90% accurate, with a margin of error of 0.04 percentage points.
BLS computers strictly interpret and assign the workforce rankings of sampled individuals. A person is employed if he or she engaged in any work, regardless of whether the work was temporary, part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, during the sample week. This designation also includes workers who did not work during the sample week but have jobs, such as those on maternity leave, vacation, sick leave, and on strike. Unpaid workers who contribute at least 15 hours of service to a family business also fall into this category. Institutionalized people, such as prisoners and military personnel, are not included in employment statistics.
The ranks of the unemployed, from which the national unemployment rate is derived, include those who are currently jobless but available for work. To meet the definition of an unemployed person, an individual must have been actively looking for work during the four weeks prior to the sample week. Active job searching can include contacting an employment agency, contacting or interviewing a potential employer, forwarding resumes, and responding to job advertisements. The BLS also designates workers on temporary furloughs or layoffs to this category. This definition does not include discouraged unemployed workers who have not engaged in active job search activities in the past four weeks.
Jobless people who are currently not looking for work fall under the heading “not belonging to the labor force”. A stay-at-home mom, a person with a disability, or a discouraged worker with long-term unemployment might all fit into this category. Individuals who sought jobs in the previous 12 months are designated as “marginally attached to the labor force”. As the BLS assigns an individual to only one category, the bureau prioritizes any form of work activity. For example, an unemployed teacher who works part-time at a fast-food franchise is considered employed even though she considers herself seriously underemployed.
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