Workforce

Workforce or labor force is the total number of people available for work. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines labor force as “all persons classified as employed or unemployed.” Employed persons are individuals aged 16 years or older who work for an employer or are self-employed. This classification excludes volunteers and anyone who is engaged in self-service or homemaking. Unemployed persons are those aged 16 years or older without a job who are available for employment and have made active job search efforts in the previous four weeks. As of March 2015, there were close to 156.9 million individuals in the labor force, among whom 148.3 million were employed and 8.5 million were unemployed. The unemployment rate peaked, at a recent high of 10 ...