U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

International Labor Comparisons

International Comparisons of Annual Labor Force Statistics, Adjusted to U.S. Concepts, 10 Countries, 1970-2010

SECTION 3. LABOR FORCE

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Country notes

Introduction

The labor force is comprised of persons who are in employment and unemployment. All members of the working-age population are eligible for inclusion in the labor force, and those 16 and over (in the United States; age limits vary by country) who have a job or are actively looking for one are so classified. All others—those who have no job and are not looking for one—are counted as "not in the labor force."

The labor force participation rate represents the proportion of the working-age population that is in the labor force.

Who is not in the labor force?

All persons in the civilian non-institutional working-age population who are neither employed nor unemployed are considered not in the labor force. Many who do not participate in the labor force are going to school or are retired. Family responsibilities keep others out of the labor force. Still others have a physical or mental disability which prevents them from participating in labor force activities.

In the United States, persons not in the labor force who want and are available for a job and who have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but who are not currently looking, are designated as "marginally attached to the labor force." The marginally attached are divided into those not currently looking because they believe their search would be futile—so-called "discouraged workers"—and those not currently looking for other reasons such as family responsibilities, ill health, or lack of transportation.

For discouraged workers, the reasons for not currently looking for work are that the individual believes that:

No work is available in his or her line of work or area;
He or she could not find any work;
He or she lacks necessary schooling, training, skills, or experience;
Employers would think he or she is too young or too old; or
He or she would encounter hiring discrimination.

This report does not provide international comparisons for discouraged workers but several relevant articles are cited in the Alternative measures of unemployment section.

Tables

Table 3-1 Labor force (in thousands)
Year	United States	Canada&nbsp	Australia	Japan	France	Germany	Italy	Nether- lands	Sweden	United Kingdom
1970	82771	8395	5478	50740	20800	26247	19723	(na)	3909	(na)
1971	84382	8639	5624	51120	21000	26382	19656	(na)	3955	25373
1972	(b) 87034	8897	5752	51320	21150	26479	19450	(na)	3963	25501
1973	89429	9276	5901	52590	21430	26783	19594	5210	3971	25723
1974	91949	9639	6053	52440	21660	26667	19904	5290	4036	25798
1975	93775	9974	6169	52530	(b) 21662	26426	20085	5340	4123	25932
1976	96158	(b) 10368	6244	53100	21934	26286	20294	5390	4148	26024
1977	99009	10661	6358	53820	22250	26328	20508	5480	4168	26108
1978	(b) 102251	11022	6443	54610	22389	26517	20575	5540	4203	26227
1979	104962	11392	6519	55210	22604	26854	20852	5640	4262	26463
1980	106940	11725	6693	55740	22749	27256	21115	5870	4312	26750
1981	108670	12080	6810	56320	22892	27543	21319	6090	4327	26864
1982	110204	12145	6910	56980	(b) 24088	27709	21406	6150	4350	26657
1983	111550	12372	6997	58110	24131	27665	21590	(b) 6120	4369	26688
1984	113544	12588	7135	58480	24235	(b) 27796	21672	6200	4385	27356
1985	115461	12850	7300	(b) 58720	24399	28028	21802	6250	4417	27574
1986	(b) 117834	13100	(b) 7585	59370	24632	28243	(b) 22294	6380	4443	27738
1987	119865	13345	7754	59880	24672	28384	22351	(b) 6378	(b) 4440	28013
1988	121669	13590	7970	60740	24675	28609	22658	6526	4496	28350
1989	123869	13857	8224	61830	24853	28841	22533	6606	4554	28670
1990	(b) 125840	14047	8440	62990	24867	29412	22670	6767	4597	28766
1991	126346	14140	8486	64190	24810	(b) 39075	(b) 22944	6917	4594	28537
1992	128105	14150	8557	64980	25004	39005	22913	(b) 7037	4526	28210
1993	129200	14238	8613	65430	25095	39102	(b) 22776	6992	4444	28090
1994	(b) 131056	14347	8770	65580	25187	39074	22597	7107	4416	28049
1995	132304	14456	8995	65820	25319	38980	22578	7344	4457	28135
1996	133943	14619	9115	66240	25601	39142	22679	7455	4454	28242
1997	(b) 136297	14886	9204	67010	25567	39415	22753	7612	4419	28403
1998	(b) 137673	15134	9339	66990	25675	39752	23004	7744	4403	28474
1999	(b) 139368	15398	9414	66730	25915	(b) 39375	23176	7881	4429	28786
2000	(b) 142583	15632	9590	66710	26193	39302	23361	(b) 8008	4490	28962
2001	143734	15886	9746	66480	26339	39459	23524	8155	4530	29092
2002	144863	16356	9901	65866	26658	39413	23728	8288	4545	29343
2003	(b) 146510	16722	10085	65495	26692	39276	24020	(b) 8330	4565	29565
2004	(b) 147401	16925	10213	65366	26872	39711	24084	8379	4579	29802
2005	149320	17056	10529	65386	27061	(b) 40696	24179	8400	(b) 4693	30137
2006	151428	17266	10773	65556	27260	41206	24395	8462	4746	30599
2007	153124	17626	11060	65909	27466	41364	24459	8595	4822	30780
2008	154287	17936	11356	65660	27683	41481	24836	8679	4875	31126
2009	154142	18058	11602	65362	27972	41507	24705	8716	4888	31274
2010	153889	18263	11868	65100	28067	41189	24741	8654	4942	31421
Footnotes: (b) Break in series; see Country notes for more information. (na) Not available.

Table 3-2 Women's share of the labor force (in percent)
Year	United States	Canada&nbsp	Australia	Japan	France	Germany	Italy	Nether- lands	Sweden	United Kingdom
1970	38.1	33.6	32.8	38.9	36.6	36.5	28.2	(na)	39.6	(na)
1971	38.2	34.4	33.2	38.4	37.0	36.8	28.3	(na)	40.3	37.4
1972	38.5	34.9	33.4	37.9	37.4	37.3	28.1	(na)	40.8	37.6
1973	38.9	35.6	34.1	38.2	37.7	37.7	28.7	27.1	41.1	38.2
1974	39.4	36.1	34.8	37.4	38.0	38.0	29.1	27.2	41.9	38.7
1975	40.0	36.9	35.5	37.0	(b) 38.2	38.5	29.4	27.5	42.7	38.8
1976	40.5	(b) 37.4	35.6	37.1	38.8	38.8	30.2	28.0	43.1	38.9
1977	41.0	37.9	36.1	37.7	39.3	39.0	31.4	28.6	43.8	39.2
1978	41.7	38.6	36.3	38.1	39.8	39.2	31.5	29.2	44.4	39.7
1979	42.1	39.2	36.4	38.3	40.2	39.3	32.2	30.1	44.8	40.1
1980	42.5	39.8	37.1	38.4	40.6	39.5	32.7	31.5	45.3	40.4
1981	43.0	40.5	37.2	38.4	41.0	39.7	33.0	33.0	46.1	40.6
1982	43.3	40.9	37.3	38.7	(b) 41.9	39.8	33.2	34.1	46.4	40.7
1983	43.5	41.4	37.5	39.2	42.1	39.8	33.5	(b) 34.0	46.7	41.1
1984	43.8	41.9	38.0	39.3	42.6	(b) 39.9	33.7	34.8	47.0	41.8
1985	44.2	42.4	38.6	(b) 39.6	42.8	40.1	34.0	34.9	47.2	42.2
1986	44.5	42.7	(b) 39.6	39.6	43.2	40.2	(b) 34.9	36.7	47.3	42.7
1987	44.8	43.1	40.0	39.8	43.5	40.3	35.3	(b) 37.9	(b) 47.7	43.0
1988	45.0	43.6	40.5	40.0	43.7	40.7	35.6	38.7	47.8	43.2
1989	45.2	43.9	41.1	40.3	44.0	41.0	35.9	38.7	47.8	43.5
1990	(b) 45.2	44.2	41.6	40.5	44.2	41.5	36.2	39.5	47.8	43.7
1991	45.3	44.6	41.8	40.6	44.5	(b) 42.8	(b) 36.3	40.0	47.7	43.8
1992	45.4	44.7	41.9	40.6	44.8	42.8	36.7	(b) 40.2	47.7	44.0
1993	45.5	44.9	42.0	40.5	45.3	42.8	(b) 37.4	41.1	47.7	44.4
1994	(b) 46.0	44.9	42.4	40.5	45.5	42.9	37.6	41.3	47.6	44.5
1995	46.1	45.1	42.9	40.5	45.8	43.1	38.0	41.5	47.6	44.7
1996	46.2	45.2	43.0	40.5	45.9	43.3	38.4	41.8	47.7	44.9
1997	46.2	45.3	43.1	40.7	45.8	43.4	38.6	42.3	47.5	45.1
1998	46.3	45.5	43.3	40.7	46.2	43.5	39.1	42.4	47.2	45.3
1999	46.5	45.7	43.5	40.6	46.3	(b) 44.0	39.5	43.0	47.4	45.4
2000	46.5	45.9	44.0	40.8	46.4	44.3	39.8	(b) 43.4	47.5	45.6
2001	46.5	46.0	44.3	40.9	46.6	44.4	40.3	43.8	47.7	45.6
2002	46.5	46.2	44.4	40.9	46.7	44.7	40.5	44.1	47.8	45.7
2003	46.6	46.5	44.8	41.1	47.0	45.0	40.7	(b) 44.4	47.8	45.7
2004	46.4	46.6	44.6	41.3	47.3	45.1	40.7	44.6	47.8	45.8
2005	46.4	46.5	45.0	41.4	47.5	(b) 45.2	40.5	45.2	(b) 47.5	45.9
2006	46.3	46.8	45.2	41.6	47.6	45.5	40.6	45.5	47.5	46.0
2007	46.4	47.0	45.3	41.6	47.8	45.7	40.6	45.8	47.6	45.8
2008	46.5	47.0	45.4	41.7	47.9	45.7	41.0	46.0	47.5	45.8
2009	46.7	47.2	45.5	42.1	48.0	45.9	41.1	46.3	47.4	46.1
2010	46.7	47.2	45.4	42.2	48.1	45.6	41.3	46.5	47.2	46.1
Footnotes: (b) Break in series; see Country notes for more information. (na) Not available.

Table 3-3 Labor force participation rates (in percent)
Year	United States	Canada&nbsp	Australia	Japan	France	Germany	Italy	Nether- lands	Sweden	United Kingdom
1970	60.4	57.8	62.1	64.5	57.5	56.9	49.0	(na)	64.0	(na)
1971	60.2	58.1	62.2	64.3	57.4	56.5	48.7	(na)	64.2	62.8
1972	60.4	58.6	62.3	63.8	57.2	56.2	47.7	(na)	64.1	62.9
1973	60.8	59.7	62.6	64.0	57.4	56.3	47.6	53.4	64.1	63.1
1974	61.3	60.5	63.0	63.1	57.4	55.7	47.7	53.5	64.8	63.1
1975	61.2	61.1	63.2	62.4	(b) 57.0	55.0	47.7	54.5	65.9	63.1
1976	61.6	(b) 62.5	62.7	62.4	57.2	54.6	48.0	54.1	66.0	63.0
1977	62.3	62.8	62.7	62.5	57.5	54.4	48.2	54.2	65.9	62.7
1978	63.2	63.7	61.9	62.8	57.4	54.4	47.8	54.0	66.1	62.6
1979	63.7	64.5	61.6	62.7	57.4	54.5	48.0	54.2	66.6	62.7
1980	63.8	65.0	62.1	62.6	57.2	54.7	48.1	55.4	66.9	62.8
1981	63.9	65.6	61.9	62.6	57.1	54.7	48.3	56.7	66.8	62.7
1982	64.0	64.9	61.7	62.7	(b) 59.5	54.6	47.7	56.6	66.8	61.9
1983	64.0	65.2	61.4	63.1	59.1	54.3	47.5	(b) 55.7	66.7	61.6
1984	64.4	65.5	61.5	62.7	58.9	(b) 54.4	47.3	55.7	66.6	62.7
1985	64.8	66.0	61.7	(b) 62.2	58.8	54.7	47.2	55.5	66.9	62.9
1986	65.3	66.4	(b) 62.8	62.1	58.9	54.9	(b) 47.8	56.0	67.0	62.9
1987	65.6	66.8	62.9	61.8	58.4	55.0	47.6	(b) 55.2	(b) 66.5	63.2
1988	65.9	67.1	63.3	61.8	57.9	55.1	47.4	55.9	67.0	63.8
1989	66.5	67.5	64.1	62.1	57.8	55.2	47.3	56.1	67.3	64.3
1990	(b) 66.5	67.4	64.7	62.6	57.4	55.0	47.2	57.0	67.4	64.3
1991	66.2	66.8	64.2	63.1	56.9	(b) 58.8	(b) 47.8	57.7	67.0	63.7
1992	66.4	65.9	63.9	63.3	57.0	58.1	47.5	(b) 58.3	65.8	62.9
1993	66.3	65.5	63.5	63.2	56.9	57.8	(b) 48.3	57.5	64.5	62.6
1994	(b) 66.6	65.2	63.9	62.9	56.8	57.4	47.6	58.0	63.7	62.4
1995	66.6	64.9	64.5	62.8	56.8	57.1	47.3	59.6	64.0	62.4
1996	66.8	64.8	64.6	62.8	57.1	57.1	47.3	60.2	63.9	62.4
1997	67.1	65.1	64.3	63.0	56.6	57.3	47.3	61.1	63.2	62.5
1998	67.1	65.4	64.3	62.6	56.5	57.7	47.7	61.8	62.8	62.4
1999	67.1	65.8	64.0	62.0	56.6	(b) 56.9	47.9	62.5	62.7	62.8
2000	67.1	66.0	64.4	61.7	56.8	56.7	48.1	(b) 63.0	63.7	62.8
2001	66.8	66.1	64.4	61.2	56.6	56.7	48.3	63.7	63.7	62.7
2002	66.6	67.1	64.3	60.4	56.8	56.4	48.5	64.3	63.9	62.9
2003	66.2	67.7	64.6	59.9	56.4	56.0	49.1	(b) 64.3	63.9	62.9
2004	66.0	67.6	64.6	59.6	56.3	56.4	49.1	64.4	63.6	63.0
2005	66.0	67.3	65.4	59.5	56.2	(b) 57.5	48.7	64.2	(b) 64.8	63.1
2006	66.2	67.2	65.8	59.6	56.2	58.1	48.9	64.5	64.9	63.5
2007	66.0	67.5	66.2	59.8	56.3	58.3	48.6	65.2	65.3	63.3
2008	66.0	67.7	66.7	59.5	56.4	58.4	49.0	65.4	65.3	63.5
2009	65.4	67.2	66.7	59.3	56.6	58.5	48.4	65.2	64.8	63.3
2010	64.7	67.0	66.5	59.0	56.5	58.1	48.2	64.3	64.7	63.1
Footnotes: (b) Break in series; see Country notes for more information. (na) Not available.

Table 3-4 Labor force participation rates for men (in percent)
Year	United States	Canada&nbsp	Australia	Japan	France	Germany	Italy	Nether- lands	Sweden	United Kingdom
1970	79.7	77.8	84.1	81.5	77.5	78.8	73.7	(na)	78.5	(na)
1971	79.1	77.3	83.8	81.9	76.6	77.5	73.4	(na)	78.0	83.1
1972	78.9	77.5	83.6	81.9	75.8	76.4	72.0	(na)	77.3	82.8
1973	78.8	78.2	83.1	81.9	75.5	75.8	71.2	79.4	76.8	82.3
1974	78.7	78.7	82.7	81.6	75.3	74.6	71.0	79.3	76.9	81.5
1975	77.9	78.4	82.2	81.2	(b) 74.4	73.3	70.6	80.0	77.0	81.2
1976	77.5	(b) 79.2	81.5	81.0	74.0	72.5	70.4	79.2	76.5	80.9
1977	77.7	79.0	81.0	80.4	73.8	71.9	69.5	78.7	75.6	80.2
1978	77.9	79.3	79.8	80.1	73.2	71.6	68.7	77.8	75.1	79.3
1979	77.8	79.6	79.5	79.9	72.6	71.5	68.3	77.0	75.1	78.8
1980	77.4	79.5	79.1	79.6	72.0	71.2	67.9	77.4	74.9	78.5
1981	77.0	79.4	78.8	79.6	71.2	70.9	67.8	77.5	73.8	78.1
1982	76.6	77.9	78.4	79.3	(b) 73.3	70.6	66.9	76.1	73.5	77.0
1983	76.4	77.7	77.6	79.2	72.4	70.1	66.2	(b) 75.2	72.9	76.1
1984	76.4	77.5	77.3	78.5	71.5	(b) 70.0	65.6	74.3	72.4	76.4
1985	76.3	77.5	76.7	(b) 77.6	71.2	70.1	65.3	73.8	72.5	76.1
1986	76.3	77.6	(b) 76.6	77.3	70.7	70.2	(b) 65.2	72.4	72.5	75.5
1987	76.2	77.4	76.2	76.6	69.9	69.9	64.5	(b) 69.9	(b) 71.3	75.4
1988	76.2	77.2	76.0	76.5	69.0	69.6	63.9	70.1	71.6	75.7
1989	76.4	77.2	76.3	76.4	68.5	69.1	63.4	70.2	72.1	75.9
1990	(b) 76.4	76.6	76.4	76.7	67.7	68.5	63.0	70.4	72.0	75.7
1991	75.8	75.5	75.6	77.1	66.7	(b) 71.1	(b) 63.7	70.7	71.7	74.7
1992	75.8	74.4	75.0	77.5	66.5	70.1	63.1	(b) 71.0	70.5	73.5
1993	75.4	73.7	74.4	77.6	65.7	69.3	(b) 63.5	69.1	69.2	72.7
1994	(b) 75.1	73.4	74.4	77.2	65.4	68.8	62.4	69.4	68.5	72.3
1995	75.0	72.8	74.6	77.0	65.1	68.1	61.6	70.9	68.8	72.0
1996	74.9	72.5	74.4	77.1	65.4	67.8	61.2	71.2	68.6	71.7
1997	75.0	72.7	74.0	77.1	64.9	67.6	60.9	71.7	68.1	71.5
1998	74.9	72.7	73.7	76.6	64.2	67.9	60.9	72.3	68.0	71.2
1999	74.7	72.9	73.4	76.1	64.2	(b) 66.1	60.7	72.4	67.5	71.4
2000	74.8	72.8	73.1	75.5	64.3	65.6	60.7	(b) 72.6	68.5	71.1
2001	74.4	72.7	72.7	74.8	63.8	65.3	60.3	72.8	68.0	70.9
2002	74.1	73.4	72.5	73.8	64.0	64.6	60.4	73.0	68.1	70.8
2003	73.5	73.7	72.4	73.0	63.1	63.7	60.9	(b) 72.7	68.0	70.8
2004	73.3	73.5	72.6	72.4	62.8	64.1	60.9	72.5	67.7	70.6
2005	73.3	73.2	73.0	72.3	62.4	(b) 65.2	60.6	71.6	(b) 69.3	70.5
2006	73.5	72.6	73.2	72.2	62.3	65.5	60.6	71.6	69.3	70.8
2007	73.2	72.8	73.3	72.4	62.1	65.4	60.3	71.9	69.5	70.7
2008	73.0	73.0	73.6	71.9	62.1	65.4	60.2	71.9	69.6	70.8
2009	72.0	72.0	73.3	71.2	62.2	65.3	59.4	71.2	69.0	70.3
2010	71.2	71.8	73.2	70.8	61.9	65.1	59.1	69.9	69.1	69.9
Footnotes: (b) Break in series; see Country notes for more information. (na) Not available.

Table 3-5 Labor force participation rates for women (in percent)
Year	United States	Canada&nbsp	Australia	Japan	France	Germany	Italy	Nether- lands	Sweden	United Kingdom
1970	43.3	38.3	40.4	48.7	39.8	38.4	26.4	(na)	50.0	(na)
1971	43.4	39.4	41.0	47.7	40.2	38.5	26.3	(na)	50.9	44.6
1972	43.9	40.2	41.2	46.8	40.6	39.0	25.6	(na)	51.5	44.9
1973	44.7	41.9	42.4	47.3	41.1	39.5	26.1	28.5	51.7	45.8
1974	45.7	43.0	43.5	45.7	41.4	39.4	26.5	28.7	53.3	46.4
1975	46.3	44.4	44.5	44.8	(b) 41.3	39.3	26.8	29.5	55.2	46.6
1976	47.3	(b) 46.2	44.3	44.9	42.2	39.3	27.6	29.9	55.9	46.7
1977	48.4	47.0	44.8	45.7	42.9	39.3	28.9	30.6	56.7	46.9
1978	50.0	48.5	44.5	46.4	43.3	39.6	28.8	31.1	57.5	47.4
1979	50.9	49.8	44.3	46.6	43.8	39.9	29.5	32.1	58.5	48.0
1980	51.5	51.0	45.5	46.6	44.1	40.3	30.1	34.3	59.3	48.6
1981	52.1	52.3	45.5	46.7	44.4	40.7	30.4	36.7	60.1	48.6
1982	52.6	52.2	45.4	47.0	(b) 47.2	40.7	30.3	37.9	60.5	48.1
1983	52.9	53.0	45.5	48.0	47.2	40.5	30.5	(b) 37.1	60.8	48.4
1984	53.6	53.9	46.1	47.8	47.6	(b) 40.7	30.5	38.0	61.1	50.2
1985	54.5	55.0	47.1	(b) 47.8	47.7	41.2	30.7	37.9	61.5	50.7
1986	55.3	55.7	(b) 49.3	47.8	48.2	41.4	(b) 31.9	40.2	61.7	51.4
1987	56.0	56.5	49.9	47.8	48.2	41.7	32.1	(b) 41.0	(b) 61.9	52.1
1988	56.6	57.4	50.8	48.0	48.0	42.3	32.3	42.4	62.4	52.9
1989	57.4	58.1	52.2	48.7	48.2	42.7	32.5	42.6	62.8	53.6
1990	57.5	58.5	53.2	49.3	48.1	43.1	32.7	44.2	63.0	54.0
1991	57.4	58.4	53.0	49.9	48.0	(b) 47.7	(b) 33.2	45.3	62.4	53.6
1992	57.8	57.8	53.0	50.0	48.4	47.4	33.3	(b) 46.0	61.3	53.2
1993	57.9	57.6	52.8	49.7	48.9	47.2	(b) 34.5	46.3	60.1	53.3
1994	(b) 58.8	57.4	53.6	49.5	49.0	47.1	34.2	47.1	59.2	53.3
1995	58.9	57.3	54.7	49.3	49.3	47.1	34.4	48.7	59.5	53.5
1996	59.3	57.3	54.9	49.4	49.6	47.4	34.7	49.5	59.4	53.8
1997	59.8	57.8	54.8	49.8	49.2	47.8	34.9	50.9	58.6	54.2
1998	59.8	58.5	55.0	49.4	49.5	48.2	35.6	51.5	58.0	54.3
1999	60.0	59.1	55.0	48.8	49.8	(b) 48.3	36.2	52.9	58.1	54.9
2000	59.9	59.5	55.8	48.7	50.1	48.4	36.6	(b) 53.8	59.2	55.2
2001	59.8	59.8	56.2	48.5	50.2	48.6	37.2	54.9	59.5	55.1
2002	59.6	60.9	56.3	47.9	50.4	48.7	37.6	55.9	59.9	55.5
2003	59.5	61.9	57.1	47.6	50.4	48.8	38.4	(b) 56.1	59.9	55.6
2004	59.2	61.9	56.9	47.7	50.6	49.2	38.3	56.5	59.8	55.9
2005	59.3	61.6	58.0	47.6	50.6	(b) 50.3	37.9	57.1	(b) 60.6	56.1
2006	59.4	61.8	58.6	47.9	50.7	51.2	38.1	57.6	60.8	56.6
2007	59.3	62.5	59.3	48.1	51.0	51.6	37.9	58.7	61.3	56.4
2008	59.5	62.6	60.0	48.0	51.2	51.8	38.6	59.2	61.2	56.6
2009	59.2	62.5	60.1	48.2	51.6	52.1	38.2	59.4	60.8	56.8
2010	58.6	62.4	59.8	48.1	51.7	51.6	38.3	58.8	60.4	56.8
Footnotes: (b) Break in series; see Country notes for more information. (na) Not available.

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2011