# The labor force participation rate

Computes the labor force participation rate from employed, unemployed and the civilian noninstitutional population, with the unemployment rate and employment-population ratio.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/labor-force-participation-rate-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/labor-force-participation-rate-calculator.json
- Version: 0f7a18629bdd

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Employed 155.175, Unemployed 6.877, Civilian noninstitutional population, 16 and over 262.029): The labor force participation rate is 61.8%, with an unemployment rate of 4.2%.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| emp | Employed | People who did any work for pay or profit in the survey week, in any one unit (people, thousands or millions). |
| unemp | Unemployed | People without a job who were available and looked for work in the past 4 weeks, in the same unit. |
| pop | Civilian noninstitutional population, 16 and over | Everyone 16 and older not in the armed forces or in an institution such as a prison or nursing home, in the same unit. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| lfpr | Labor force participation rate | Labor force ÷ population × 100. |
| unemploymentRate | Unemployment rate | Unemployed ÷ labor force × 100. |
| employmentRatio | Employment-population ratio | Employed ÷ population × 100. |
| laborForce | Labor force | Employed + unemployed, in the unit you typed. |
| notInLaborForce | Not in the labor force | Population − labor force, in the unit you typed. |

## Method

Labor force = employed + unemployed; participation rate = labor force ÷ civilian noninstitutional population × 100; unemployment rate = unemployed ÷ labor force × 100; employment-population ratio = employed ÷ population × 100.

## Assumptions

- The BLS Current Population Survey definitions: people 16 and over, not in the armed forces or institutions.
- All three numbers are in the same unit (people, thousands or millions); the rates do not depend on the unit.

## Worked examples

1. emp = 155.175, unemp = 6.877, pop = 262.029 gives lfpr = 61.845063%, unemploymentRate = 4.2437%, laborForce = 162.052, notInLaborForce = 99.977. Source: OpenStax, Principles of Macroeconomics 3e, §8.1, Table 8.1 (U.S. November 2021: adult population 262.029 million, labor force 162.052 million, employed 155.175, unemployed 6.877; participation 61.8%, unemployment 4.2%); https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cps/concepts.htm.
2. emp = 60, unemp = 5, pop = 100 gives lfpr = 65%, unemploymentRate = 7.692308%, employmentRatio = 60%, notInLaborForce = 35. Source: BLS Handbook of Methods, CPS concepts (participation rate = labor force ÷ civilian noninstitutional population × 100); https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cps/concepts.htm.
3. emp = 0, unemp = 4, pop = 10 gives lfpr = 40%, unemploymentRate = 100%, employmentRatio = 0%. Source: BLS Handbook of Methods, CPS concepts (unemployment rate = unemployed ÷ labor force × 100); https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cps/concepts.htm.

## FAQ

### How do I calculate the labor force participation rate?

Add the employed and the unemployed to get the labor force, then divide by the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 and over and multiply by 100. In November 2021: (155.175 + 6.877) ÷ 262.029 × 100 = 61.8%.

### How is the unemployment rate calculated?

Divide the unemployed by the labor force, not by the whole population, and multiply by 100. In November 2021: 6.877 ÷ 162.052 × 100 = 4.2%.

### Who counts as unemployed?

The BLS counts people as unemployed if they had no job in the survey week, were available for work, and made a specific, active effort to find a job in the past 4 weeks (or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff). People who are not looking are not in the labor force.

### What is the civilian noninstitutional population?

People aged 16 and over who live in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, are not on active duty in the armed forces, and do not live in institutions such as prisons or nursing homes. It is the denominator of the participation rate.

### Why can the participation rate fall while unemployment falls too?

People who stop looking for work leave the labor force. That lowers the unemployment rate (fewer unemployed) and the participation rate (a smaller labor force) at the same time. Retirements have the same effect on participation.

### What is the employment-population ratio?

The employed as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. It equals the participation rate times (1 − the unemployment rate).

## Sources

- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Handbook of Methods: Current Population Survey, Concepts (civilian noninstitutional population, employed, unemployed, labor force, participation rate, unemployment rate, employment-population ratio), retrieved 2026-10-18. https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cps/concepts.htm
- OpenStax. Principles of Macroeconomics 3e, §8.1 How Economists Define and Compute Unemployment Rate (Table 8.1, November 2021), retrieved 2026-10-18. https://openstax.org/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e/pages/8-1-how-economists-define-and-compute-unemployment-rate