Unemployment & the Labor Force

Question, try, then observe

Lower unemployment: were jobs added?

Move five people at a time while the eligible population stays 100. Search scenarios assume availability and qualifying search; the withdrawal scenario has no waiting-for-work exception. Compare the counts and rates to see why unemployment changes.

US: civilian noninstitutional residents aged 16+, excluding active-duty military and institutional populations; eligible foreign citizens may be included.

Five people per change

Choose a population change and compare the counts and rates.

Exclusive categories within the survey universe

Employed60 people

Unemployed10 people

Not in labor force30 people

Employed people: 60
Unemployment rate: 14.29%
Participation rate: 70.00%
Employment-population ratio: 60.00%

Different denominators: unemployment uses employed plus unemployed; participation uses the eligible population.

How the population is classified

Illustrative population112 people
- Eligible survey population100 peopleAge 16+, meeting civilian survey rules
  - Labor force70 people
    - Employed60 peopleQualifying work or temporary absence
    - Unemployed10 peopleNo work, available, with qualifying search or waiting exception
  - Not in the labor force30 peopleNeither employed nor unemployed; includes discouraged workers
- Outside the survey population12 peopleExcluded from the rate denominators

Check survey eligibility first, then current work and search status. Being outside the labor force does not mean not wanting work.

Check your understanding

How should this person be classified?

1 / 8

Eligible for the selected survey, did three hours of paid work this week and also applied for another job.

Answered 0 / 8

What did you just see?

With 60 employed, 10 unemployed and 30 nonparticipants, unemployment is 14.29% and participation 70%. If five unemployed people stop searching and become nonparticipants, employment stays 60 while the rates fall to 7.69% and 65%. Lower unemployment may reflect hiring or withdrawal from job search.

Check eligibility, then classify work status

Check survey eligibility first. Qualifying employment takes precedence over job search, study or caregiving. For everyone else, check unemployment criteria. Eligible people who meet neither are not in the ; that category does not mean they do not want a job or cannot change status.

Taiwan: who is employed or unemployed?

Taiwan's reference week includes the 15th of each month. Eligible people aged 15+ are employed if they do paid work, regardless of hours, or at least 15 hours of unpaid family work. Paid temporary absences and paid hires who have not started are also included. Unemployment requires no work, availability and current search or awaiting a search result; it also includes awaiting work resumption or an unpaid start of a job already found. Part-time work, student jobs and self-employment can qualify.

US: active search and temporary layoffs

The CPS reference week usually includes the 12th. Eligible people aged 16+ qualify through at least one hour of paid or self-employed work, 15 hours of unpaid family work, or a qualifying temporary absence, paid or unpaid. Unemployment requires no employment, availability (with a temporary-illness exception), and active search in the four weeks ending with that week. Applications, interviews and employer contact qualify; browsing vacancies or training alone do not. Temporary layoffs awaiting recall waive search. Waiting to start a new job does not: recent active search is still required.

Discouraged workers still want work

Discouraged workers are a subset of nonparticipants, not everyone who wants work without searching. Taiwan's Manpower Utilization Survey requires wanting work, availability and job search in the past year, followed by withdrawal because of perceived opportunities or qualification barriers. BLS requires wanting work, availability, search in the past 12 months (or since the end of the last job if it ended within that period), but no active search in the latest four weeks, and discouragement about job prospects. Check each country's detailed rules before comparing counts. Exclusion from headline unemployment does not imply unwillingness to work.

How do Taiwan and US survey populations differ?

This tool uses Taiwan's established registered-population Manpower Survey: eligible Taiwanese-national civilian household members aged 15+, excluding military and custodial populations. The new 2026 resident-population employment series also covers eligible foreign residents; do not combine the series. US CPS covers civilian noninstitutional residents aged 16+, including eligible foreign citizens. Taiwan's headline reference-week unemployment and separately published four-week measure (LU1) are distinct. Check citizenship, residence and search periods as well as the age threshold.

Who is excluded from these rates?

Exclude people below the age threshold, active-duty military and nationally defined custodial or institutional populations. US institutional exclusions include specified residential care facilities, not just prisons; apply Taiwan's own survey rules separately. A released person who meets current eligibility is not automatically excluded by a criminal record. Adding excluded people to nonparticipants inflates participation's denominator.

Another example

Choose Taiwan or US definitions and check age and survey eligibility.
Classify each eligible person once; the tool totals the labor force and eligible population.
Move unemployed people out of job search and compare the three measures.

Show formal definition and formula

The labor force consists of employed and unemployed people. Eligible people who meet neither definition are not in the labor force. These three groups form the population used for participation and employment-population ratios; people outside the survey are shown separately.

Labor force and survey universe

L = E + U N = E + U + O

Unemployment rate

u = \frac{U}{L}

Participation and employment ratios

a = \frac{L}{N} e = \frac{E}{N}

E: Employed people
U: Unemployed people
O: Nonparticipants within the universe
L: Labor force: employed plus unemployed
N: Applicable survey universe, excluding outside populations
u: Unemployment rate, decimal
a: Participation rate, decimal
e: Employment-population ratio, decimal
Units: People are nonnegative integers. Rate formulas are decimals, displayed times 100 as percentages. Taiwan 15+ and US 16+ are different universes with noninterchangeable denominators.

Common mistakes

Lower unemployment does not guarantee hiring. Students can be employed or unemployed, and discouraged jobseekers belong to nonparticipants. Excluded populations are separate; Taiwan and US methods differ beyond their age labels.

Frequently asked questions

What if the labor force or eligible population is zero?

The tool reports a missing valid denominator rather than presenting an undefined rate as zero.

Is an employed jobseeker unemployed?

Qualifying employment takes precedence. Looking for another job or receiving unemployment benefits does not itself determine survey status.

You can now explore…

Separate employment, unemployment, inactivity and excluded people
Track unemployment and participation under Taiwan and US definitions

Term reference1 terms

Open a term when you need a reminder. Underlined words in the article work too.