ALUR is WorkWhile’s real-time gauge of labor attachment
The American Labor Utilization Rate (ALUR) is a daily signal of whether experienced workers continue earning on our platform. It’s the first of its kind: a high-frequency indicator built from shift-level earnings data rather than surveys.
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Why ALUR matters for the economy
A direct read on utilization
ALUR tracks whether workers who’ve proven sustained engagement keep working. High utilization means that the labor market is absorbing available capacity; when it softens, attachment is fraying.
A leading, high-frequency signal
Updated daily, ALUR can move ahead of slower, survey-based indicators—helpful for spotting turning points in labor tightness, wage pressure, and staffing frictions.
Tenure-controlled
By focusing on the continued earnings potential of mature workers on our platform, ALUR concentrates on workers past early churn and reduces noise from onboarding cycles or mix shifts in demand.
Comparable over time.
A rolling, year-ago cohort design allows apples-to-apples comparisons over time.
Actionable for operators
Rising ALUR suggests stronger earnings confidence for workers and continued labor supply for employers; declining ALUR can foreshadow easing demand, scheduling frictions, or worker constraints
Interpreting the index
Higher ALUR → stronger attachment
A larger share of experienced workers continue earning—consistent with tighter conditions.
Level vs. trend.
Day-to-day moves capture high-frequency dynamics; multi-week trends are more telling for macro shifts.
Method at a glance
Population
Paid shifts on WorkWhile.
Milestones
For each worker, compute cumulative paid shifts and mark when they become a mature worker (WorkWhile proprietary benchmark)
Cohorts
For each calendar as-of date, form a rolling cohort of workers whose first paid shift occurred 12 months earlier within a 30-day window.
Measure
Among cohort members who have reached mature status by that as-of date (denominator), compute the share who continue working (numerator).
ALUR
Numerator / Denominator, stored to 6-decimal precision and displayed as a percentage.
Frequency
Calculated every 15 minutes; charted from 2023-01-01.
