The Fact
The employment-population ratio is the number of employed people divided by the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older.
What This Means
This measure answers a simpler question than the unemployment rate: what share of the adult civilian noninstitutional population is actually employed? It is not affected by whether a jobless person is actively looking for work.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPS Concepts and Definitions. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/cps/definitions.htm