Unemployment（失业）rose from 7.5%26amp;in June， 1996to 7.8% in July， 1996， the highest rate since January of that year ， the Labor Department reported. The main reason was a large increase ——nearly 700， 000 in the labor force ， with a record 61.9% of the population over sixteen years of age working or actively looking for work.
That growth was caused mainly by an increase in the number of women in the labor force ， an increase partly because of a continuation of long ——term and economic trends（经济趋势）and partly a reflection of pressure on families to increase their incomes.
It can be inferred that the labor force described in the passage is made up of __________
A．persons whose jobs are not professional（专业的） B．persons who work at both permanent （永久）and full-time jobs C．those over 16 years of age who are looking for work D．about 60% of the country’s population