What percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population is either working or actively looking for work?

The percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population that is working or actively looking for work is the labor force participation rate.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates it as the civilian labor force divided by the civilian noninstitutional population, multiplied by 100. The labor force includes employed people and unemployed people who are actively seeking work; people without jobs who are not looking are outside the labor force.

The term “civilian noninstitutional population” generally refers to people age 16 and over who are not on active duty in the armed forces and are not living in institutions such as prisons or long-term-care facilities. The monthly estimate comes from the Current Population Survey, a household survey conducted for the BLS and Census Bureau.

The rate is often confused with the unemployment rate. Unemployment measures jobless people within the labor force, while participation measures how much of the eligible population is engaged with the labor market at all. Someone who stops searching for work can lower participation without changing the number counted as unemployed.