[andy58-in-nh]

Hoe did they do it?

1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month.

That's how.

The civilian labor force is now at a 30-year low of 63.7%.

[DuncanWaring]

[tobyhill]

It's called the annual benchmark adjustment. They sample less so they get a higher percentage of employment and lower unemployment numbers.

I just spoke to an economist at the Labor Dept and at first he denied the adjustment would be that high until he looked at the numbers and had to admit it was the reason for the drop. He then qualified it with “under every President they adjust the numbers, not just for Obama”.

I asked him what the percentage would be if the workforce numbers were the same as Jan. 2009 and he told me “9.4% to 9.5%”.