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Labor Force (Demographic) Data

Most requested tables

Projected 1998-2008 labor force, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin

• Entrants, leavers, and stayers
• Level, change, and distribution

Most recent analysis

Howard N Fullerton, Jr., "The labor force: steady growth, changing composition," Monthly Labor Review, November 1999, pp. 19-32.
Download a PDF version. (See How to view PDF files for help.)

Read the tables from this article:

• Table 1.Civilian labor force 16 and older by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 1978, 1988, 1998, and projected 2008
• Table 2. Civilian noninstitutional population by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 1978, 1988, 1998, and projected 2008
• Table 3. Civilian labor force participation rates by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 1978, 1988, 1998, 1998, and projected 2008
• Table 4. Comparison of the labor force participation rates and the age composition of Hispanic and white non-Hispanic men, 1998
• Table 5. Civilian labor force by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 1978, 1988, 1998, and projected 2008
• Table 6. Civilian labor force 16 years and older, 1988 and 1998, and projected 2008, and entrants and leavers, actual 1988-98 and projected, 1998-2008
• Table 7. Median ages of the labor force, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, selected historical years and projected 2008
• Table 8. Distribution of the population and labor force by age and sex, 1978 1988, 1998, and projected 2008
• Table 9. Economic dependency ratio, 1975-98 and projected 2008, by age
• Normal Retirement Age, from the Social Security Administration

• Labor force projections
• Projections evaluations

Projections methods

For a brief description, see BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 13. Employment Projections, Bulletin 2490, April 1997.

Special purpose files

NOTE: These are large, complex data files that generally are of use to researchers and data developers who wish to conduct their own analyses or program the data for other purposes. The files reside at our ftp site.

Labor force data files

Historical	Projected
The data for 1990-93 reflects the weights from the 1990 census of population.
The projections for 1999-2007 has not received the level of review that the published data for 2008 has.
Civilian labor force, 1980-98	Civilian labor force, 1999-2008
Labor force participation rates, 1980-98	Labor force participation rates, 1999-2008
Civilian noninstitutional population, 1980-98	Civilian noninstitutional population, 1999-2008

Labor force and population numbers are in thousands, labor force participation rates are in percent.
Available by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin for each year.

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