How to Calculate the Employment-Population Ratio
The employment-population ratio equals the number of employed divided by the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over, times 100.
The Employment-Population Ratio formula
Calculator
Divide the employed by the population age 16 and over, with the unemployment rate alongside for contrast.
Everyone age 16 and over who did any paid work during the survey week, part time included.
People not on active military duty and not in an institution such as a prison or nursing home.
Jobless people who searched for work in the past four weeks. Used for the comparison figures.
60% of everyone age 16 and over is working, and that share does not improve when discouraged workers stop searching.
- Labor force
- 160 million
- Unemployment rate
- 6.25%
- Labor force participation rate
- 64%
- Not in the labor force
- 90 million
The labor force is the employed plus the unemployed, which leaves out everyone not looking for work.
A different denominator answering a different question: this one divides by the labor force, not the whole population.
The share of the population age 16 and over that is either working or looking.
Students, retirees, caregivers and discouraged workers sit here, counted in this ratio's denominator but not in the labor force.
How to calculate Employment-Population Ratio, step by step
- 1Count the employed. Everyone age 16 and over who did any paid work during the survey week, part time included.
- 2Find the population age 16 and over. The civilian noninstitutional population: people not on active military duty and not in an institution such as a prison or nursing home.
- 3Divide and convert to a percent. Ratio = (employed ÷ population age 16+) × 100.
- 4Watch the denominator. The unemployment rate divides by the labor force, which leaves out people who are not looking for work, while this ratio divides by the whole population age 16 and over.
Worked example: Employment-Population Ratio
150 million people are employed and the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over is 250 million, so the ratio = (150 ÷ 250) × 100 = 60%. With 10 million unemployed, the labor force is 150 + 10 = 160 million, so the unemployment rate = (10 ÷ 160) × 100 = 6.25%: a different denominator answering a different question.
Employment-Population Ratio questions
How is the employment-population ratio different from the unemployment rate?
The ratio divides employed people by the entire population age 16 and over, while the unemployment rate divides jobless job-seekers by the labor force alone. Someone who stops searching leaves the labor force but stays in this ratio's denominator.
Why do economists watch this ratio during a recovery?
It does not improve when discouraged workers quit searching, so it shows whether jobs are genuinely coming back instead of whether people gave up looking.
Does the ratio count part-time workers?
Yes. Anyone who did paid work during the survey week counts as employed, whether the job was full time or part time.
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