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We ask questions about how many weeks a person worked in
the last year, and how many hours he or she worked each
week to produce statistics about full-time and part-time
workers, as well as year-round and seasonal workers.
Local, state, tribal, and federal agencies use work status data
to plan and fund government programs that provide
unemployment assistance and services, and to understand
trends and differences in wages, benefits, work hours, and
seasonal work. These data also help evaluate other
government programs and policies to ensure fair and equitable
distribution of services for all groups, and to enforce laws,
regulations, and policies against discrimination in society.
Your privacy concerns
We use your confidential survey answers to create statistics like those in the results below and in the full tables that contain all th
data—no one is able to figure out your survey answers from the statistics we produce. The Census Bureau is legally bound to
strict confidentiality requirements. Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcemen
entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone, including companies, other federal agenci
and law enforcement.
Questions as they appear on the form
We ask two questions about how many weeks a person worked in the last year, and how many
hours he or she worked each week to help federal agencies understand trends and differences in
wages, benefits, work hours, and seasonal work.
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VIEW QUESTIONS
Results from these questions
We compile the results from these questions to provide communities with important statistics about work. You can see some of
these published statistics here for the nation, states, and your community.
United States
Workers (16 to 64) Who Worked Full-Time, Year-Round
67.4 percent [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2023.S2303]
Source: Latest ACS 5-Year Estimates
Subject Tables: 2303 [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2023.S2303]
Median Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Male Workers
65,664 dollars [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03]
Source: Latest ACS 5-Year Estimates
Data Profiles/Economic Characteristics [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03]
Median Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Female Workers
53,445 dollars [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03]
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Source: Latest ACS 5-Year Estimates
Data Profiles/Economic Characteristics [https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03]
Work status last year data help communities:
Provide Employment Opportunities
Employers, federal agencies, and federal government contractors are interested in knowing whether programs designed to emp
specific groups, such as people with disabilities or veterans, are succeeding (Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance A
Rehabilitation Act of 1973).
State and local agencies use these statistics to:
Identify labor surplus areas (areas with people available for hiring and training).
Plan workforce development programs including job fairs and training programs.
Promote business opportunities.
Ensure Equal Opportunity
We want to know more about people who are employed or looking for work, in combination with age, sex, race, Hispanic origin,
disability status, veteran status, and other data, to help governments and communities enforce laws, policies, and regulations
against discrimination in employment. For example, data on work status last year help enforce laws against discrimination in
employment by federal agencies, private employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations (Civil Rights Act of 1964).
Understand Changes
Information on the characteristics of people who are working or looking for work is an important part of estimating changes in the
economy. Estimates of work status last year are used to:
Make decisions about funding.
Ensure surveys are accurate, including surveys that provide official labor market estimates.
Understand change in other data (Wagner-Peyser Act and Workforce Investment Act).
History of work status last year questions
The work status last year questions originated with the 1880 Census. They were transferred to the ACS in 2005 when it replaced
the decennial census long form. The work status last year question was modified in 2019. Research about this modification
[https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2017/acs/2017_Smith_01.html] and copies of previous questionnaires
[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/methodology/questionnaire-archive.2018.html] are available on the ACS website
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