A measure of the active portion of an economy's labor force.
The labor force participation rate is defined as the percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 and over working or looking for work. It is largely determined by demography, most notably the share of the adult population of prime working age, typically 25 to 54. The most recent U.S. recession and recovery have been accompanied by a sharp decline in the labor force participation rate. The largest declines have occurred in states with the largest job losses. This suggests that some of the recent drop in the national labor force participation rate could be cyclical. Participation Rate. Indexed annuities credit a level of interest to the contract owner, and this level of credited interest is indexed or linked to the performance of equity markets. Participation rates determine the final level of interest that is credited to the owner of a fixed indexed annuity. Participation rates are applied to the various crediting methods and result in a final level of credited interest that is less than the crediting method result.  2) A decline in working women. The labor force participation rate for men has been declining since the 1950s. But for a couple decades, a rapid rise in working women more than offset that dip. Women’s labor force participation exploded from nearly 34 percent in 1950 to its peak of 60 percent in 1999. The labour force participation rate is a measure of the extent of an economy s working-age population that is economically active.It provides an indication of the relative size of the supply of labour available for the production of goods and services.  Answer: The labor force participation rate is the percentage of working-age persons in an economy who: 1  Are employed. 2  Are unemployed but looking for a job.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force participation rate is the share of the population 16 years and older working or seeking work.. According to the site, the formula for determining the labor force participation rate is: The labor force participation rate has hovered around 65-67 over the past decade or so. It is currently sitting at 65.5. The rate has increased dramatically over the past 50 years or so due to more women entering the workforce. For comparison's sake, the labor force participation rate was around 58-59 in the late '40s. The participation rate is an important metric to note when looking at unemployment data because unemployment figures reflect the number of people who are looking for jobs but are unable to secure employment. The participation rate is important in analyzing the unemployment rate. The number of people who are no longer actively searching for work would not be included in the participation rate. During an economic recession, many workers often get discouraged and stop looking for employment, as a result, the participation rate decreases. DEFINITION of 'Participation Rate'. A measure of the active portion of an economy's labor force. The participation rate refers to the number of people who are either employed or are actively looking for work. The number of people who are no longer actively searching for work would not be included in the participation rate. During an economic recession, many workers often get discouraged and stop looking for employment, as a result, the participation rate decreases. Republicans have tried to temper the latest jobs report — which showed a gain of nearly 300,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipping to 5.5 percent — by noting that the labor force participation rate has continued to decline. The labor force participation rate for men has been declining since the 1950s. But for a couple decades, a rapid rise in working women more than offset that dip. Women’s labor force participation exploded from nearly 34 percent in 1950 to its peak of 60 percent in 1999.
http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2013/may/will-labor-force-participation-bounce-back/ http://www.annuitydigest.com/participation-rate/definition http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/declining-labor-participation-rates/ http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=2008 http://economics.about.com/od/unemploymentrate/f/labor_force.htm http://www.davemanuel.com/investor-dictionary/labor-force-participation-rate/ http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/participationrate.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/participationrate.asp http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/declining-labor-participation-rates/
participation rate definition