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Unemployment below 6%

With extremely low labor participation rates...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...low-record-926-million-americans-not-labor-fo
While by now everyone should know the answer, for those curious why the US unemployment rate just slid once more to a meager 5.9%, the lowest print since the summer of 2008, the answer is the same one we have shown every month since 2010: the collapse in the labor force participation rate, which in September slid from an already three decade low 62.8% to 62.7% - the lowest in over 36 years, matching the February 1978 lows. And while according to the Household Survey, 232,000 people found jobs, what is more disturbing is that the people not in the labor force, rose to a new record high, increasing by 315,000 to 92.6 million!
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Whatever President Obama did during that gray area really killed jobs.


 
Isn't labor participation force going to continue to decrease as the population ages?
 
ChrisL68 said:
Isn't labor participation force going to continue to decrease as the population ages?
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Sure it is. So, our unemployment rate is going down, in significant part, because people are getting old and no longer working. Well, that, and many people have just given up trying after years of futility (I know a few stay at home moms in that category). That said, Boomers, while a large generation reaching retirement age, tend to be staying employed longer based on an internal study I was reading at work yesterday.

It's just another number that has to be considered in the politicized unemployment rate argument.
 
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RacerDeac said:
Sure it is. So, our unemployment rate is going down, in significant part, because people are getting old and no longer working. Well, that, and many people have just given up trying after years of futility (I know a few stay at home moms in that category). It's just another number that has to be considered in the politicized unemployment rate argument.
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The job growth numbers were solid.
 
zerohedge is whacky but the labor force participation issue is real. The economy is not creating enough jobs to employ everyone who wants or needs one, and the unskilled have nothing to fall back on other than disability. But good news is good news and a quarter million jobs created is definitely moving in the right direction.
 
RacerDeac said:
Sure it is. So, our unemployment rate is going down, in significant part, because people are getting old and no longer working. Well, that, and many people have just given up trying after years of futility (I know a few stay at home moms in that category). That said, Boomers, while a large generation reaching retirement age, tend to be staying employed longer based on an internal study I was reading at work yesterday.

It's just another number that has to be considered in the politicized unemployment rate argument.
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Sadly, this is true.
 
Spot the Wonder said:
More data on participation here

http://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2014/09/the-demographics-of-the-activity-rate-decline/
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We see a strong drop in participation by young men, likely reflecting a larger share who are staying in school longer. Older men’s participation hasn’t changed much. The bulk of the overall decline comes from middle-aged men. They are the largest group and have the largest impact. But their participation has been declining throughout the sample period, so it is not a new phenomenon for them
 
The discussion on the Pit Parenting Thread is relevant here. The costs of day care are so high that it makes economic sense for second earners to stay at home.
 
PhDeac said:
The discussion on the Pit Parenting Thread is relevant here. The costs of day care are so high that it makes economic sense for second earners to stay at home.
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Who?
 
Sorry, I need to use caveman speak to communicate with you. Bitches, the 77 percenters.
 
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