Front-page WaPo. Maybe Bezos is having an impact?Americans are participating in the workforce at the lowest level in 35 years, according to government data released Friday, as lackluster job growth fails to offset the droves of people who have given up looking for work. According to the Labor Department, the economy added a disappointing 169,000 jobs in August. In addition, the government lowered its estimate of the number of jobs created in June and July by 74,000 positions.
The grinding pace of recovery has hollowed out the workforce. Government data showed that only 63.2 percent of working-age Americans have a job or are looking for one, the lowest proportion since 1978. Nearly 90 million people are now considered out of the labor force, up 1.7 million from August 2012.
And it only took the WaPo four or five years to report it.
There are demographic trends underlying the decline in the labor force. For much of the past generation, growing numbers of working women boosted its size, but that effect has leveled off. Meanwhile, the first wave of baby boomers is reaching retirement age, while younger workers are staying in school longer before looking for their first job.
And WHY are kids staying in school longer? A lack of jobs, perchance?
Many economists believe those shifts cannot fully explain the size of the decline. Research released this spring by two Federal Reserve economists showed that states with the largest drops in unemployment also had bigger declines in the labor force, suggesting the slow pace of recovery is the culprit.
In a remarks Friday while at the Group of 20 summit in Russia, President Obama said he is "determined that the world has confidence in the full faith and credit of the United States." He also touted gains in manufacturing jobs and new regulations aimed at fortifying the nation's banks.
We've enlarged the welfare rolls! More people are being assisted by the government! My plan is succeeding!
"We've put more people back to work, but we've also cleared away the rubble of crisis and laid the foundation for stronger and more durable economic growth," he said.
Is it a lie if he really believes it?
| Sadly, he hasn't the intellectual tools to know the difference. |
On Friday, Kansas City Fed President Esther L. George called for scaling back the program by $15 billion. In a separate speech, Chicago Fed President Charles L. Evans was more circumspect, but acknowledged the data has been murky.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has said that the central bank will begin paring its stimulus this year, and many investors expect it will start this month. But Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said he believes the August jobs report is evidence that the economy still needs the Fed's help.
Aren't the printing presses worn out yet?