Labor Force Participation Rate measures the number of people who are available to work and is expressed as a percentage of the total population, including both employed and unemployed persons. It is monthly released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistic. The minimum age of persons included in the Labor Force Participation Rate is 16 years old, and it includes only the persons who are actively searching for a job if they are unemployed, while the categories of students or retired people are excluded from the calculation. Higher than expected readings are positive for the US Dollar and the US economy as a larger amount of people are working or looking for a new job, therefore they can contribute more to consumer spending and in the growth of GDP in the future. If the population considers the economic prospects of the country are more optimistic, the ratio could increase as more people will be more active searching for new jobs.
The United States Labor Force Participation Rate
The United States Labor Force Participation Rate latest reading for the month of June 2017 was 62.80%, higher than the previous reading of 62.70%. For 2017, the readings show little variability and a stable trend, having peaked at February and March with same reading of 63.0%. The United States Labor Force Participation Rate has a long-term average of 63.0% for the period of years 1950-2017, so the current reading shows a stable trend over time. The all-time high reading was 67.30% in January of 2000, and the all-time low reading was 58.10% in December of 1954.
