U.S. Economy > Labor

U.S. Economy > Labor:

About 146 million people in the United States were working in paid jobs at the end of 2006, with another 7 million unemployed; the 153 million total makes up the world's third largest labor force, after China's and India's. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. working-age people participate in the labor force. Males and females each account for about half. About 15 percent of them are foreign born. Some 5 to 6 percent of them work more than one job.

The private sector employs most U.S. workers, 85.5 percent, and governments employ the rest. A lot of people are self-employed, more than 10 million in 2005, although some of them split their time between working for other people and for themselves. Most working people work for someone else in nearly 6 million U.S. companies. Most of these companies have fewer than 20 employees. More ......