Unemployment is determined, first, by those who are eligible and able to work. Americans are then classified into one of three groups: The first group, being those who are under the age of sixteen years and/or those institutionalized; the second, those not in the labor force; or the third, those who are employed. In the first group, these people are not considered potential members of the labor force. The second group is composed of those who are potential workers but are not employed and are not seeking work. Homemakers, retirees, and full-time students are examples. The third group contains those who are actually in the labor force, working, or seeking work.

Since it is impossible to ask every single person in America, at a given time, whether they are employed or unemployed- the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, conducts nation-wide random surveys of some 60,000 households every month. They ask several questions to find out whether those in the household are currently employed, unemployed and seeking work, or not seeking work. Part time work and discouraged workers are up for debate within the statistics. Part time work is for those who are in school, have certain medical conditions which may limit their availability, and those in-between jobs or not able to find suitable jobs to fit their skills. This classification of work is disputed because the work is not full-time, and requires less time. Discouraged workers are those who are unemployed and not looking for a job. This can be disputed because some older people may have not completed all of their schooling, in thus lacking particular demanding skills, and become discouraged after continuously seeking new jobs, finding none that require the skills in which they have.

ations of unemployment for statistical reasons include: age, gender, and ethnicity. As of September 2001, "the unemployment rates for each of the major worker groups- adult men (4.3%), adult women (4.4%), teenagers (14.7%), whites (4.3%), blacks (8.7%), and Hispanics (6.4%) -- showed little or no change over the month."

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