WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Payroll to Population employment rate (P2P), as measured by Gallup, was 45.1% for the month of September, a slight decline from 45.3% in August, but more than a full point's improvement over the 43.8% found in September 2011.Gallup's Payroll to Population metric estimates the percentage of the U.S. adult population aged 18 and older who are employed full time for an employer for at least 30 hours per week. P2P is not seasonally adjusted.
These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews, conducted by landline and cell phone, with more than 30,000 Americans throughout the month. Adults who are self-employed, working part time, unemployed, or out of the workforce are not counted as payroll-employed in the P2P metric.
P2P is calculated based on the total population, not just those in the workforce. Unlike traditional employment metrics, which are reported as a percentage of the workforce, Payroll to Population accounts for people moving in and out of the workforce, which is a better barometer of the economic energy of the country. P2P will decline if people become unemployed or leave the workforce entirely and will improve as people find full-time work or re-enter the workforce to work full time. This stands in contrast to unemployment rates, which actually can artificially improve as people drop out of the workforce.
P2P experiences seasonal fluctuations, as do other employment rates. Based on Gallup's previous two years of data, a dip from August to September is to be expected. In September 2010, P2P dropped to 43.3% from 44.2%, almost a full percentage-point change. In 2011, it declined to 43.8% in September from 44.0% in August, a 0.2-percentage-point change. Given the data from the previous two years, the 0.2-point decline this September is to be expected and is not necessarily a sign of trouble in the workforce.
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These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews, conducted by landline and cell phone, with more than 30,000 Americans throughout the month. Adults who are self-employed, working part time, unemployed, or out of the workforce are not counted as payroll-employed in the P2P metric.
P2P is calculated based on the total population, not just those in the workforce. Unlike traditional employment metrics, which are reported as a percentage of the workforce, Payroll to Population accounts for people moving in and out of the workforce, which is a better barometer of the economic energy of the country. P2P will decline if people become unemployed or leave the workforce entirely and will improve as people find full-time work or re-enter the workforce to work full time. This stands in contrast to unemployment rates, which actually can artificially improve as people drop out of the workforce.
P2P experiences seasonal fluctuations, as do other employment rates. Based on Gallup's previous two years of data, a dip from August to September is to be expected. In September 2010, P2P dropped to 43.3% from 44.2%, almost a full percentage-point change. In 2011, it declined to 43.8% in September from 44.0% in August, a 0.2-percentage-point change. Given the data from the previous two years, the 0.2-point decline this September is to be expected and is not necessarily a sign of trouble in the workforce.
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