The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

The union membership rate was 10.3 percent in 2019, down by 0.2 percentage point from 2018. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions was little changed at 14.6 million in 2019. | |

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the pandemic, as well as hiring for the 2020 Census. | | | |

Contact the Current Population Survey (CPS)

State, city, and county labor force data

Labor force information for Census regions and divisions, states, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities are available separately from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Contact LAUS by e-mail or call (202) 691-6392.

National labor force data

CPS economists are available to assist you Monday through Friday (8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time), excluding federal holidays.

Contact us by e-mail

Contact us by phone: (202) 691-6378

To enable us to better serve all of our customers, please do not submit e-mail questions and then call for the same information.

For assistance with these special topics:

Written inquiries may be directed to:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Division of Labor Force Statistics

Suite 4675

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20212-0001

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide information about unemployment insurance (UI)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide information about income and poverty