“...As the unemployment rate drops across the country...”
And when is this supposed to take place????????
It should start to bubble up, oh, around January of 2017 (if all goes well. Otherwise it never will again).
As I understand it, the unemployment rate measures the people who are drawing unemployment benefits and actively looking for work.
There are two ways to cause it to drop: one is by people finding jobs; the other is by people not seeking jobs, and dropping out of the workforce.
A lo of the later has happened as, for instance the number of SSI/ Disability recipients has skyrocketed. You've got people saying, "Heck, I'm not unemployed, I'm permanently disabled."
Oh, and a third thing that will cause a drop in "unemployment" rates, is unmderemloyument." That could be people working at jobs far below their educational and skill level (MBA's shampooing dogs) and by people working part-time or seasonally when they really need and want to be working full-time year-round.
So the real numbers to look at are not "unemloyment," but "workforce participation." The USA has a workforce NON-participation rate of nearly 40%.