Saturday, March 09, 2013

Record High 89.3 Million People “Not In The Labor Force”

Obamanomics in all it's glory...
The unemployment rate may have fallen from 7.9% in February to 7.7% in January, but the number of people not in the labor force has set a record all-time high. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines those not in the labor force as those who are unemployed and no longer looking for work, including those who retired on schedule or retired early. CNS News reported the numbers:
“The number of Americans designated as ‘not in the labor force’ in February was 89,304,000, a record high, up from 89,008,000 in January, according to the Department of Labor. This means that the number of Americans not in the labor force increased 296,000 between January and February.”

This is why the official unemployment rate published by the BLS is really quite meaningless. It doesn’t take into account these people who are unemployed and no longer looking for work. There are likely millions of working-aged Americans in that very category. The unemployment rate only considers those who don’t have a job but are looking for work.

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