In other words, the participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work. The labor force participation rate is calculated as: (Labor Force ÷ Civilian Noninstitutional Population) x 100.

To be considered part of the labor force, you must be available, willing to work, and have looked for a job recently. The official unemployment rate measures the jobless who are still in the labor force.

Thus, a person who does not have a job but who is not currently available to work or has not actively looked for work in the last four weeks is counted as out of the labor force.

Labor Force Participation Rate This is calculated as the number of adults in the labor force divided by the adult population, and then multiplied by 100 to get the percentage. To be counted in the labor force, one needs to be either employed, or unemployed and actively looking for a job.

The formula for unemployment rate is: Unemployment Rate = Number of Unemployed Persons / Labor Force. The labor force is the sum of unemployed and employed persons. By dividing the number of individuals whom are unemployed by labor force, you’ll find the labor force participation, or unemployment rate.

The labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed persons.

The true percentage of people who don’t have jobs or aren’t making enough money is often worse than the official unemployment rate suggests because the Current Population Survey (CPS) doesn’t collect certain information from those surveyed.

It is true that some jobs require more training and experience than others. It is also true that some jobs carry more responsibility, pay more money, and have greater status. But that doesn’t mean one job is more important than another.

For individuals, work is an important feature in structuring: personal and social identity; family and social bonds; ways of making money, and thereby accessing a number of essential and non-essential goods, services and activities; daily routines; level of activity; physical and mental well-being; self-confidence and …

Kirby: Here are the 10 most important jobs

• Garbage collectors/waste treatment workers. These are the most important workers in a modern society.
• The military. soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen/airwomen, Coast Guard, etc.
• Cops/firefighters/EMTs.
• Nurses — all of them.
• Postal workers.
• Utility workers.
• Farmers/ranchers/fishers, etc.
• Teachers.

FORTUNE — Soldiers — followed closely by teachers, physicians, scientists, and engineers — contribute the most to society’s well-being, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.