Breitbart – by Caroline MayA record 92,898,000 Americans 16 years and older did not participate in the labor force last month, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The BLS defines people not in the work force as people 16 years and up who are not employed and haven’t “made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week.” The labor force participation rate — or the “The labor force as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population” — also dipped back down to 62.7 percent, from 62.9 percent in November.
September also saw a labor force participation rate of 62.7 percent, however prior to then, the last time the rate hit 62.7 percent was in February of 1978.
While the level of labor force participation declined — due not only to potentially discouraged workers but also baby boomers hitting retirement age — the BLS reported Friday that in December the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent and payroll jobs increased by 252,000.
“Today’s solid employment report caps off a strong year for the U.S. labor market, which achieved a number of important milestones in 2014,” Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement. “Total job growth last year was the strongest since 1999, while the unemployment rate fell at the fastest pace in three decades.”
“Although nominal wages fell in December, inflation-adjusted wages have generally been rising, and job growth has picked up in sectors that traditionally provide good, middle-class jobs,” he added.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) reacted to the labor news by touting the jobs bills the new Republican Congress have been pushing, including the Keystone pipeline.
“It’s always welcome news when more Americans find work,” he said. “Yet while the economy is showing some signs of improvement, far too many middle-class families are struggling to bridge the gap between rising costs and stubbornly flat paychecks.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/09/record-92898000-americans-not-in-the-workforce/
Bullshit! More like 130 million unemployed.
…hey but unemployment is ONLY 5.something %…
“Yet while the economy is showing some signs of improvement,…”
And he said this without a hint of irony AND a straight face?
“… far too many middle-class families are struggling to bridge the gap between rising costs and stubbornly flat paychecks.”
Gap?
Try chasm, @sswipe.
Using there math that is 387,500 jobs a month. and in 20 years if no one else entered the work force all the people right now would have work. Not counting the millions of people still looking for work. And there math still says there is only 11 million illegals in the US and that is a # that needs at least one 0 added to it!
So we would have to make a 1 Million jobs a month and in 8 years just the people not looking for work right now could get a jobs. We are so F*~*~*Hell it just hit me we need to let more people into the USA.
Politicians shipped a lot of the middle class people’s jobs overseas to China or India. No reason to do that except plain freakin evil scum. Now a lot of these middle class people are sleeping in cars, tents. Some guy was sleeping under Vegas in some storm drain with his family. Sad thing the middle class is what made this country great for many years. A guess what we are all starting to realize is that this system that was created wasn’t for the middle class working people it was for the 1% to screw everyone over to make them look like kings and queens. We aren’t England. This is not how are country is suppose to be run. I am not advocating force to solve this situation, but I can’t come of with another way around it. I think Force is actually what is needed to get things back to the way they were. And the damn politicians are suppose to be for we the people not for being sell outs to a bunch of wall street psychopaths.