Why is this a "stunning" figure? The population not in the labor force includes tens of millions of retirees. That population is growing simply as a matter of course, as Baby Boomers retire and exit the work force permanently.
This is why the labor participation rate is one of the most useless figures published by the U.S. Department of Labor.
RE: Why is this a “stunning” figure? The population not in the labor force includes tens of millions of retirees.
We really should not be counting retirees. I’d like to know if they have a statistic that filters those who are retired out of the picture. THAT will give us a true indicator of those who are actively looking for work and not finding it ( i.e., how dire or how good the job market is ).