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From Home Furnishing Business
Fast Fact: Civilian Labor Force Drops 3.2% Since 2006
October 1,
2018 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
The Civilian Labor Force, defined as persons employed and those unemployed, but actively looking for work, is down 3.2 percentage points since 2006, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As of February 2018, the current work force makes up 63 percent of the total civilian population over the age of 16. Roughly 37 percent of the population over 16 is not considered part of the labor force. This segment – Not in the Labor Force – consists of people who are in school and do not work, those who have grown disillusioned searching for work and not actively looking, and those who choose not to work for various reasons.
At 63 percent, the portion of the population employed continues to stay well below pre-recession levels, while people not in the labor force climbs further, growing 3.2 percentage points from 2006 to 2018.
The labor force historically includes teenagers, ages 16 to 19, as they make up a large portion of the part-time labor market. In addition to an unemployment rate of 14.4 percent among teens, many are opting out of summer jobs and represent 11.3 percent of the total persons “not in the labor force.”
For an in-depth look at the data, click here.