Americans Not in Labor Force Exceed 93 Million for First Time; 62.7% Labor Force Participation Matches 37-Year Low (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) - The number of Americans 16 years and older who did not participate in the labor force--meaning they neither had a job nor actively sought one in the last four weeks--rose from 92,898,000 in February to 93,175,000 in March, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the first time the number of Americans out of the labor force has exceeded 93 million. Also from February to March, the labor force participation rate dropped from 62.8 percent to 62.7 percent, matching a 37-year low. Five times in the last twelve months, the participation rate has been as low as 62.8 percent; but March’s 62.7 percent, which matches the participation rate seen in September and December of 2014, is the lowest since February of 1978. ype="node" title="labor chart BLS employment statistics are based on the civilian noninstitutional population, which consists of all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home. In March, the civilian noninstitutional population was 250,080,000 according to BLS. Of that 250,080,000, 156,906,000 -- or 62.7 percent -- participated in the labor force, meaning they either had or job or had actively sought one in the last four weeks. Of the 156,906,000 who did participate in the labor force, 148,331,000 had a job and 8,575,000 did not have a job but actively sought one. The 8,575,000 are the unemployed. They equaled 5.5 percent of the labor force—or the unemployment rate of 5.5 percent (which matched the unemployment rate seen in February 2015). According to the BLS, the aging of the baby boom generation is a key factor affecting the labor force participation rate: “The baby boomers’ exit from the prime-aged workforce and their movement into older age groups will lower the overall labor force participation rate, leading to a slowdown in the growth of the labor force,” explains the BLS. "In 2000, baby boomers were aged 36 to 54 years and were in the group with the highest participation rates: the prime-aged group 25 to 54 years old. The participation rate for women in this group was 76.7 percent and for men was 91.6 percent, so that the overall participation rate of the group was 84.0 percent. The participation rate of the next-older age group, that 55 years and older, was 32.4 percent, so the difference between the two age groups was 52 percentage points. With the passage of every year after 2000, a segment of the baby-boomer population passes into the 55-years-and-older age group and thus moves from a group with a high participation rate in the labor force to an age category with a much lower particiption rate, causing the overall participation rate to decrease,” states BLS.
No... You still have to account for welfare and retired citizens. I would say it's about 18% unemployment. That's still very high.
I would like to see this broken into age groups. I keep hearing about the "lost generation" that cant find jobs anymore, 25 and younger or so
Those 25-year olds are now in their later-20's. That "lost" generation were the kids coming out of college during the financial crisis. Supposedly, their career earnings potential was stunted by the inability to find jobs that matched those of their counterparts that graduated like 2-6 years prior.
I was in Eugene yesterday going to lunch with my son and wife and a group of young hippies said...slap a hippy for 5 bucks...showed me the sign..this is what privilege leads to?
This is so true...I actually found myself years ago asking my son to turn down the loud music...I never thought I'd do that. When people talk about employment in this country I am pretty down on the lack of ambition I see from this generation though and I saw many of them daily for a couple decades in Oregon...not a strong work ethic
I agree totally. They are either really motivated and hard working, chasing the dream, or they're totally unmotivated and waiting for a handout. When I was a young newly wed I was willing to do any and all work I was qualified for, on any schedule, so long as it paid something. I never felt like I had a choice. I had a wife and kids. Whatever it took. During my last ten years or so of full time employment we really struggled to find and retain people who were willing to work nights and weekends, even those younger folks with families. They are willing to take less money for a better or easier schedule. Some claim it's better for their family and money isn't an issue. And I believe that is often truly the case. And good for them. But far too often it's because they don't want to move out of their "comfort zones" (whatever those are) or they are just plain lazy. Their priorities are different than ours were. That's not a completely bad thing, but when Mom and Dad are gone, Social Security has been plundered and the Republicans are finally finished gutting our social services, what are their expectations going to be? A slacker mentality is easy to get away with for the first half of a person's life, but they are in for a big surprise (and bigger disappointment) when age starts catching up to them. The real irony is that, at least currently, there are what seems to be plenty of jobs out there. They might not be high paying jobs but they exist. And I'm sure they pay more than being slapped for $5........
Not accounting for the bums that actually want to be bums, there are a lot of people that are willing to work if there is work available. The bums you mention are just a small sample size of all the unemployed in America.
The problems facing people in their 20's today are threefold: 1. Student debt is out of control 2. Salaries did not keep up with inflation. 3. It seems like a lot of people are graduating with worthless degrees. I have a few friends that finished with a degree in theater. One works at a haberdashery downtown and the other worked as a delivery driver for a grocery company. It's just sad.
When I grew up bums were old guys out of luck, drunks, hobos...now it's a subculture of youth and there's work all around them they don't want. There are hard working kids, my son is one but there are a scary amount of young people who lack a work ethic..bring your factories here and see who show's up looking for jobs...lot of single parents, middle aged or first generation young couples. I just left a home with 2 grandchildren in their early 20s who don't work, get foodstamps and stoned all day while I'm paid to care for their disabled grandfather and I'm over 60..it's demonstrable mags...worked around young folks all my life. You may not have any exposure to our young generation entering the workforce. Anytime we notice things..it does matter whether you value another person's demographic as having value or not.... #realamericanswhohaverealexperiencesonadailybasis
Umm..they graduated with a degree in theatre, what did you expect. Its a hustler economy nowadays, you get whatever job you can and go from there. The days of stable long careers at one company are relatively done (although I've had the same job for like 15 years)
Sure, the theater degree was a worst case scenario, but how many people graduate with degrees in sociology, psych, and english? My cousin has a degree from a small private school for philosophy and english lit. WTF are you going to do with that other than teach? He currently works at the cheese counter at a Fred Meyer.
Yeah, what are people with degrees in Sociology or Psych or English gonna do. They should have known that coming in, I mean even in the early 2000s there was that joke that its a degree to be a barista. Look that's the shit nowadays, I think the reason I don't want to really change jobs is that applying for jobs sucks balls. Everything is changing quick though.