The participation rate is the number of people who are in the labor force divided by the population that is of working age.  Working age is considered to be sixteen years of age to sixty-five years of age.  This is an interesting statistic in that it describes the number of people who could be working choose to do so.  For instance, in recent history the participation rate of women has increased dramatically as it has become more common place for women to leave the role of homemaker and enter the work force.  As the participation rate increases this is usually a sign of increased economic growth

The pariticpation rate is calculated as follows:

Participation Rate = Labor Force / Population of Working Age