Labour Force Participation Rate definition

The Labour force participation rate is the number of people in the ‘working-age’ population who are either employed or unemployed and actively seeking employment. Discouraged workers, those who want to work but have stopped looking for work for at least a month, are generally not included in a country’s potential labour force. Examples of groups who are not included include students, retired people, prisoners and stay-at-home parents.

When measuring the number of working-age people in a population, most countries have an upper limit – usually around 65 – while the United States does not.