The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) adjusts the numbers from the household survey to estimate the employment picture for the entire population. Once the adjustment is made, the BLS uses the figures to generate key employment indicators. The following table presents information from the household surveys conducted for December 2017 and, for purposes of comparison, December 2016. The numbers in the table are listed in thousands. For example, the number of unemployed in the table for December 2017 indicates that about 6.6 million people were unemployed at that time. Use the information lists that follow the table to help you fill in the missing values in the table. December 2016 2017 Civilian noninstitutional population 254,742 256,109 Civilian labor force 159,735 161,523 Participation rate 62.7% Employed 152,233 154,021 Employment-population ratio 59.8% Unemployed 7,502 6,576 Official unemployment rate 4.7% Unemployed 15 weeks or more 3,060 2,397 U-1 labor underutilization 1.9% Discouraged workers 5,674 5,308