Employment Rate measures the share of working-age adults who are actually employed in a paying position. The employment rate can be a better indicator of the strength of labour markets than the unemployment rate (since the unemployment rate depends on whether or not a non-working individual is considered to be “in” the labour force).
"Working-age adults" are of 15-64 years of age, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and "Paying positions" are job entitlements that pay a steady amount on a monthly or yearly basis.
The employed working-age individuals against the total number of working-age individuals residing in certain demography are the measure of employment rate. The formula to calculate the employment rate would be - divide the employed number by the total number of working-age individuals and multiply it 100 times.
Employed working-age people
Employment rate = ------------------------------------------------------ x 100
Total working-age people
For example, if a big neighborhood has 40000 working-age adults in total and about 35000 of them employed. That would make the employment rate in that neighborhood, (35000x100)/40000 = 87.5%.
Use of the Term in Sentences:
- Employment rates are better measures of the employment scenario among the population of any area since there is a debate on what should be considered as the right age range of working-age adults and should it vary based on the demographic situation and work culture.