It’s a tricky statistic. There aren’t actually 8.5 million fewer people working than before. There are 8.5 million fewer people working than you would expect to be working given the percentage of people who were working before.
It’s like if you were a beachcomber, and every day you found $100. Then one day, you were out and found $100, but when you got home, you couldn’t find the $100 from yesterday.
You could say that you “lost $100”. You could say you had $100 less than you expected to have. But you can’t say you have “$100 less”, because you have the same amount of money you had yesterday.
Let me offer some advice on the missing 8.5 million.
First, a number of folks over the past two decades got safely into a secure 401k and investment situation, and basically quit working at age 45 to 55. Most weren’t “rich”, but they were safe, and just wanted to do some things that most people only dream about. Look at your RV crowd, and the folks who rebuild cars in their garages now.
Second, a fair group of the 8.5 million discovered that you could quit your job and open up a private underground business of sorts, and rely upon a cash income. An example: flea market operations where you buy your stuff for cash....resell for cash....and clear $30k-to-$90k a year off cash by itself. You never report anything to the IRS, and you never put anything in the bank that draws attention.
Third, sadly, there’s probably 500k Americans who have given up on jobs, and moved back in with Dad or Mom. They’ve been there for a year...maybe even ten years. They might do some part-time work for pocket money, but they’ve lost their enthusiasm. Dad can’t change nothing, and this will continue on...until Dad passes away, and there’s no income movement.
Fourth and final....drug sales. Let’s face it. There’s around one million Americans who are selling dope or manufacturing meth across America. They have a thriving business and don’t get counted as workers. They’ve escaped the private sector and become their own bosses...with a decent income....as long as the cops don’t figure out their enterprise.