The Fact
In the Current Population Survey, a person is classified as employed if they worked at least 1 hour for pay or profit during the survey reference week. People temporarily absent from a job can also count as employed, and unpaid family workers count if they worked at least 15 hours in a family business or farm.
What This Means
The official category “employed” does not mean full-time, adequately paid, or financially secure. A person can work one paid hour in the reference week and still be counted as employed.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPS Concepts and Definitions. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/cps/definitions.htm