United Kingdom vs United States: Labour force participation rate
Labour force participation rate over time
- United Kingdom
- United States
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 63.79 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup against 62.6 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in United States, a difference of 1.19 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 32 shared years of data; in 1993 it was United States ahead.
United Kingdom ranks 12th and United States ranks 13th of 33 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, United Kingdom averaged higher in 2 and United States in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United Kingdom | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62.6 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 66.8 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 4.2 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | United States |
| 2000s | 63.2 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 66.23 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 3.03 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | United States |
| 2010s | 63.49 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 63.29 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 0.2024 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 63.22 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 62.17 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | 1.05 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher labour force participation rate, United Kingdom or United States?
- United Kingdom, at 63.79 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup against 62.6 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in labour force participation rate between United Kingdom and United States?
- 1.19 Percentage of working age population in the same subgroup, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United Kingdom and United States?
- 32 years are reported by both, from 1993 to 2024.
- How do United Kingdom and United States rank globally for labour force participation rate?
- United Kingdom ranks 12th and United States ranks 13th of 33 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Labour force participation rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The infra-annual dataflow on the labour force participation rate is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the labour force participation rate by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The labour force participation rate is calculated as the number of the labour force population as a percentage of the working age population. The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.