Hidden Unemployment

and 2010, however, many areas were still struggling economically, which is the reason
the employment-population ratio is still used by both Americans and people around the
world.
Key Definitions
Key terms that explain the use of the ratio follow:
Employed Persons All those who, (1) do any work at all as paid employees, work in
their own business or profession or on their own farm, or work 15 hours or more as
unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise; and (2) all those who do not work but
had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad
weather, vacation, childcare problems, labor dispute, maternity or paternity leave, or
other family or personal obligations—whether or not they were paid by their employers
for the time off and whether or not they were seeking other jobs.
Unemployed Persons All those who, (1) have no employment during the reference
week; (2) are available for work, except for temporary illness; and (3) have made
specific efforts, such as contacting employers, to find employment sometime during the
past 4-week period.
Participant Rate This represents the proportion of the population that is in the labor
force.
Not in the labor force. Included in this group are all persons in the civilian
noninstitutional population who are neither employed nor unemployed. Information is
collected on their desire for and availability to take a job at the time of the CPS
interview, jobsearch activity in the prior year, and reason for not looking for work in past
4-week period.
Multiple jobholders. These are employed persons who, have two or more jobs as a
wage and salary worker, are self-employed and also held a wage and salary job, or
work as an unpaid family worker and also hold a wage and salary job.
Use
The ratio is used to evaluate the ability of the economy to create jobs and therefore is
used in conjunction with the unemployment rate for a general evaluation of the labour
market stance. Having a high ratio means that an important proportion of the population
in working age is employed, which in general will have positive effects on the GDP per
capita. Nevertheless, the ratio does not give an indication of working conditions, number
of hours worked per person, earnings or the size of the black market. Therefore, the
analysis of the labour market must be done in conjunction with other statistics.
This measure comes from dividing the civilian noninstitutionalized population who are
employed by the total noninstitutionalized population and multiplying by 100.
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