Record 95,102,000 Americans Not Participating in Labor Force: Most Want Full-Time Jobs

Washington Free Beacon ^ | 01/06/2017 | Ali Meyer

[JBW1949]

That is almost 1 in 3 Americans...Including children!!!!

Thanks, Obama, you nit....

[servantboy777]

I guess i’m just ignert this way, but if we have roughly 330 million citizens in the U.S. and 95 million working age folks are out of the workforce...how is it the unemployment rate is 4.7%? Even if you take 50% of the rough math out of the equation and call it “margin of error”, how is it that we have 4.7% unemployment? With the margin of error, separating out this hokey group and that, would we not still see something around 17%?

[Windflier]

Fully 30% of the U.S. population is not working, yet we’re to believe that the unemployment rate is just 4.5%?

Lying-est administration in American history!

[riverdawg]

Headline is misleading. There are 5+ million part-time workers who say they would prefer to work full-time. These people are the so-called “involuntary part-time workers.”

[Steve_Seattle]

"Headline is misleading. There are 5+ million part-time workers who say they would prefer to work full-time. These people are the so-called “involuntary part-time workers.”

Thank you. Too many people see this stat about "people out of the workforce" and forget that it includes retirees, children, prisoners, and others not even looking for work. It does not mean that there are 95 million people who are looking for jobs and can't find them.

[riverdawg]

There are not 95 million “working-age” people who are out of the labor force. There are 95 million persons age 16+ not in institutions who are out of the labor force. Most of these 95 million are retired and over 65, full-time students, homemakers, etc. The BLS website provides enough information formyounto perform the relevant calculations from the “raw” data.

[Iron Munro]

[RayChuang88]

NOW people understand why Donald Trump--who clearly understands we need major regulatory and income tax reform to bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA--is pushing for such reforms. That right there will dramatically increase the employment levels, which is good for everyone involved.

[riverdawg]

See my post #7 for further clarification of the working-age, non institutional population. It is comprised of persons age 16+ who are not institutionalized (i.e., not in prison, not in a residential mental health facility, etc.).

[LostPassword]

Obamacare is doing what Pelosi said

A bill that says to someone, if you want to be creative and be a musician or whatever, you can leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care. You won’t have to be job locked.

Either that or Obama's other policies destroyed the will for many individuals to work or for small businesses to hire.

[Alberta's Child]

Very good point. I’ve said for years that those figures need to be adjusted to eliminate retirees who have no interest in working.

[jjotto]

Youth and prime-age (under 55) are responsible for the participation rate decline. Over 55 and retirement age (65+) participation has been increasing.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Too many people see this stat about “people out of the workforce” and forget that it includes retirees, children, prisoners, and others not even looking for work.

OK, let’s take away the children ( what age is one considered a child?), retirees and prisoners , how many of the 95 million are left who are not in the labor force then?

[george76]

Plus the U-3 and the U-6 ( BLS ) numbers.

[riverdawg]

Yes, that’s true.

[NobleFree]

The “real” unemployment rate, otherwise known as the U-6 measure, was 9.2 percent in December.

End all immigration, legal and illegal, until Americans are employed.

[jjotto]

I agree the 85 million figure isn’t meaningful, but the decline in labor force participation, especially men age 25-54, is very real and a hidden cause of society’s dysfunction.

Grandma was right: Idle hands ARE the devil’s workshop.

[riverdawg]

I agree that the recent decline in male labor-force participation in the 25-54 age group is troubling and certainly worth further study.

[Nero Germanicus]

“Children” really should be persons over the age of 16 which includes high school and college students who are not working as well as going to school.
Those persons over sixty five who are no longer employed alone nearly cuts the 95 million figure in half.