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U.S. Economy

Real-Time Population Survey (RPS)

June 18, 2021

Employment Rate Declines in Mid-June

  • The employment rate for working-age adults (18–64) was 70.7 percent in the RPS for the week of June 6–12, down from the estimate of 71.1 percent for the week of May 9–15.
  • In mid-May, the RPS employment rate of 71.1 percent exceeded the most recent Current Population Survey (CPS) estimate of 70.9 percent for working-age adults (18–64).

Chart 1

Downloadable chart | Chart data

Unemployment Rate Unchanged

  • The unemployment rate in the RPS was 7.2 percent for June 6–12, unchanged from the estimate for May 9–15.
  • In mid-May, the 7.2 percent unemployment rate in the RPS exceeded the official CPS estimate of 5.6 percent for working-age adults (18–64).

Chart 2

Downloadable chart | Chart data

Labor Force Participation Decreases

  • The labor force participation rate was 76.2 percent in the RPS for June 6–12, a decrease relative to the estimate of 76.5 percent for May 9–15.
  • In mid-May, the RPS estimated participation rate of 76.5 percent exceeded an estimate of 75.1 percent in the CPS.

Chart 3

Downloadable chart | Chart data

RPS Authors

The RPS was developed by Alexander Bick, an associate professor at WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and Adam Blandin, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at Virginia Commonwealth University, in collaboration with Karel Mertens, a senior economic policy advisor in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.