(CNSNews.com) - The number of women 16 and older not in the labor force climbed to a record high of 55,116,000 in April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

This means that there were 55,116,000 women 16 and older who were in the civilian nonsinstitutional population who not only did not have a job, they did not actively seek one in the last four weeks. That is up 428,000 from the 54,688,000 women who were not in the labor force in March.

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of this population that either has a job or actively sought one in the last four weeks. In April, according to BLS, the labor force participation rate for women was 56.9 percent, down from 57.2 percent in March.

The labor force participation rate, as calculated by the BLS, is based on the civilian non-institutional population, which is the number of people in the country 16 or older who are not in the military or an institution.

In April, according to BLS, the female civilian labor force was 72,835,000 which was down 340,000 from the 73,175,000 in March.

The unemployment rate for women also decreased from 6.6 percent in March to 6.1 percent in April.

The business and economic reporting of CNSNews.com is funded in part with a gift made in memory of Dr. Keith C. Wold.