labour-force participation rate

labour-force participation rate
This refers to the number of people in work and unemployment and those seeking work, as a proportion of a specified baseline population. Rates may vary according to how the base group is defined, for example male, female, the total adult population over 16 years, or the working-age population (16–65 years). Difficulties arise over female participation rates, especially in Third World countries, because of ambiguity in the definition of women's work. The same applies to child labour.