Last month the unemployment rate dropped because of a drop in the labor participation rate.
Millions more have dropped out of the work force, with the lowest labor participation rate in over 30 years.
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The civilian labor participation rate fell again in March to 63.3%.
Chan, Chase Private Client chief economist, was worried about the declining labor participation rate, which helped push down the unemployment rate, yet is an indication the economy still faces substantial obstacles.
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Job growth has improved, but remains well below the levels necessary to substantially bring down the unemployment rate, while a falling labor participation rate has artificially led to bullishness over the gradual decline in the jobless rate.
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Making matters worse, the fall in the unemployment rate (which stood at 8.3% in July), was in great part due to a further decrease in the labor participation rate, which ticked down to 63.5%, according to Nomura.
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While the unemployment rate fell for all the right treasons, with household employment up by 873, 000 and the labor participation rate inching up 0.1 percentage points, the latter still remains close to its lowest levels in approximately 30 years.
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The latest QE-program announced by the Bernanke Fed will be tied to the progress of the labor market, which has seen the unemployment rate tick down as a consequence of a falling labor participation rate, rather than truly improved economic conditions.
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This means a low 7%ish headline unemployment rate, a stabilization in the labor force participation rate (which may have already begun in April) and accelerating GDP growth.
Note that each percentage point decrease in labor force participation rate is equivalent to 3 million people leaving the labor force.
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The current situation is far different, with unemployment falling because of a declining labor force participation rate and a decline in the size of that labor force.
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Over the last 12 months, the unemployment rate has fallen by 0.4 percentage point, and the labor force participation rate has been essentially unchanged.
The labor force participation rate, which peaked in 2000, has been trending lower ever since.
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They have a higher labor-participation rate than native-born Americans, and they also create new businesses at a higher rate.
At the same time, the labor force participation rate is near 30-year lows.
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The labor force participation rate was also unchanged at 63.6 percent in December.
The labor force rose by 578, 000 people in October, and the labor force participation rate increased by 0.2 percentage point.
The US female labor force participation rate, is rising over time, and for most of recent history higher than in Japan.
The labor force participation rate for mothers of young children stood at 70.6% in 2011, compared with 47% in 1975.
In August, the labor force participation rate for men was the lowest on record, which goes all the way back to 1948.
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The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 63.6 percent in January.
The labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point last month.
The civilian labor force declined by 496, 000 over the month, with the labor force participation rate falling by 0.2 percentage point to 63.3%.
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The economic consequence will be either higher unemployment, a further decline in the labor force participation rate, or a combination of the two.
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Moreover, the labor force participation rate, which is a measure of the percentage of people working in the entire population, is falling precipitously.
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The labor force participation rate of recent immigrants is reported as high as 94 percent, about one third higher than the general population.
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The 350, 000 decline in the labor force brought the labor force participation rate in November to 63.6 percent, down slightly from 63.8 percent in October.
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The labor force participation rate did not change substantially at all.
It was also the second consecutive month in which the work-force grew, and the second month since last July in which the civilian labor force participation rate increased.
The size of the labor force grew by 578, 000 workers in October, with the labor force participation rate moving higher by two-tenths of a percentage point to 63.8%.
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