Employment

Employment typically refers to an individual working for pay at an establishment that is either in the private or public sector. However, individuals can also claim to be self-employed, which means that they are working for themselves. Usually an individual is defined as employed if he or she is working one hour or more a week. An individual is in the labor force if he or she is either employed or unemployed. Workers who work less than a specified number of hours (usually 30 hours or, in the case of the United States, 35 hours) are considered working part time, otherwise they are considered full-time workers.

The employment rate is defined as a fraction of the population employed, usually for some age range. For example, in ...