In april 2017, the working-age population of the united states was 254.6 million. the working-age population is divided into those in the labor force (160.2 million) and those not in the labor force (94.4 million). the labor force is divided into the employed (153.2 million) and the unemployed (7.1 million). those not in the labor force are divided into those not available for work (88.7 million) and those available for work (5.7 million). finally, those available for work but not in the labor force are divided into discouraged workers (0.5 million) and those currently not working for other reasons (5.2 million).