No One Works in 1 in 5 U.S. Families. Someone is counted as employed if they did any work at all in the survey reference week as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family. The 19.7 percent of families in which no one was employed means they could have either been unemployed or not in the labor force (for example, married retirees).