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  [google-translator] As of March 2013, the percentage of working-age adults in the labor force -known as the participation rate- fell to 63.3%, the lowest since May 1979. Since unemployed people who stop looking for work are not counted as unemployed, the official unemployment rate is grossly understated. Part of … Continue reading →

[google-translator] The unemployment rate has been declining, but so has labor force participation. Media attention tends to focus on the former and to ignore the latter; as a result, some people wrongly assume that the employment situation is improving and that it’s only a matter of time before things get … Continue reading →

[google-translator]   In the mid 1950s, nearly every man in his prime working years was in the labor force, a category that includes both those who are employed and those actively applying for jobs. Early in 1956 the “participation rate” for men ages 25 to 54 stood at 97.7%. By … Continue reading →