re: Unemployment falls to 6.3%

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The so-called participation rate

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What the frick does this mean? the "so-called" participation rate? Like it's not a legitimate measurement or valid topic?

Are there ANY honest numbers coming out of the Kreml..., I mean, White House?

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right now, we have a massive group of people retiring at my company.. like.. 15% of our workforce has retired in the last 3 months.. massive. The stock market is high, and people are finally retiring, this alone could skew the numbers a bit, and this could be a good thing (honestly).

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Not really. The left tries to champion "baby boomers retiring" but again, the math in the numbers don't add up. I read an article, i'll try to find it, that broke down the retiring folks argument. It basically boils down to, the population growth rate outnumbers the retiring boomers. Those positions that open are now being filled by other workers, creating an opening for more workers. Companies aren't just saying, "man, 10 people retired today, i guess we should shut down the department". They are actively filling those roles.

Also, labor participation rate will not change. Retirees are not counted as part of the workforce, so that population is not considered in the averages. Again, if you only listen to the media, you wouldn't know this. You have to look at how they gather data.

Also, there has been a massive drop off in labor participation rate in people ages 16 and 54.

Found the article

LINK

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Since 2008, the civilian non-institutional population has jumped by 11.9 million, yet the civilian labor force has only increased by 1.1 million, according to annual figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The above numbers speak to a pronounced drop in labor force participation—that is, those working or looking for work—with the participation rate dropping from almost 66 percent throughout 2008 to its current level of 62.8 percent, the lowest it’s been since 1978.

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On the other side are those such as senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute, Diana Furchtgott-Roth who, in a Jan. 14 piece for RealcCearMarkets.com noted that “since 2000 the labor force participation rates of workers 55 and over have been rising steadily, and the labor force participation rates of workers between 16 and 54 have been declining.”

Which is absolutely true. Since 2003, those 65 years and older have seen their labor force participation rate rise from 13.99 percent to 18.7 percent. Those aged 55-64 saw their rate rise from 62.44 percent to 64.36 percent, a recent Americans for Limited Government (ALG) study of Bureau data from 2003-2013 shows.

Meanwhile, participation by those aged 16-24 dropped from 61.56 percent in 2003 to 55.05 percent in 2013, and for those aged 25-54, it dropped from 82.98 percent to 82.01 percent.

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So, does older Americans working longer, younger people failing to enter the labor force, and the middle-aged dropping out account for the decrease in labor force participation?

Yes on all counts, the ALG study shows.

Specifically, 16-24 year olds failing to enter the labor force alone took 1.29 percent off the overall labor force participation rate. 25-54 year olds took a whopping 5.24 percent off the rate.

Meanwhile, these losses were offset by 55-64 year olds adding 2.39 percent back to the rate, and 65 years old and above adding another 1.13 percent.


By far the biggest contributors to the drop in participation were:

that the population of those aged 25-54 increased by 1.12 million, and yet its labor force actually shrank by 1.53 million—a net loss of 2.65 million; and
2.53 million people aged 16-24 failed to enter the labor force compared to the rate in 2003..

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once again... the stock market is up now, and people are retiring now - not last summer

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Wait, so your argument is based on 1 specific period in time? Why not look at the participation rate going down since Obama took office?

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Let's get this thing to zero percent!!!

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SO 800K get off the tit and you are bitching? I don't give two shits what they are doing but it isn't costing us unemployment money.

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Happy Days Are Here Again

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With the influx of new poets, I see a literary renaissance in our future.

A haiku from Iowahawk:

Unemployment's out.
Hey, maybe I can git on
Disability

And honestly, why wouldn't the labor participation rage go down?

Remember a few weeks ago, every Democrat and liberal was championing Obamacare because it got rid of "job lock". They basically said, that Obamacare means that they don't have to worry about a job anymore, and they are now free to scribble on canvas, if they want. Couple that with the fact that food stamps are at their highest rate EVER. Let's also throw in the housing market is on the verge of another collapse, and so is the stock market, and China's inflated numbers and you have a perfect recipe for a depression that is caused in part by the Obama administration and his Democrat cronies.

Oh, and to pile onto that, let's look at our spending rate, and the want for the left to increase taxes on everyone.

The real question is, who is stupid enough to not see the train wreck coming?

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DR Hops

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You linked to an article, published by the senior editor for a republican mouthpiece.. with 2 links in it, 1 of which is a professional report, that actually supports my claim. Thanks!

ETA: Ok I'm done

We are fricked

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Give Obama time, he'll get this thing fixed.

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We need to find a way to elect him for another 8 years, 8 years wasn't enough time to fix the mess left by the Bushy Bush!

Look at Matt Drudge's headline: