The decline came because of a 20 basis point drop in the labor-force participation rate.

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The labor-force participation rate, which measures the percentage of working-age people in the workforce, also dropped to 63.5%, the lowest in 30 years.

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The labor-force participation rate, which measures those employed as well as those looking for work as a portion of the population, fell 0.2 to a seasonally adjusted 63.3%, a level last seen in mid-1979.

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One bright spot in the Labor Department jobs release, at least, was the slight rise in both the labor force participation rate and employment-to-population ratio, the first increases since February.

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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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At the same time, the labor force participation rate is near 30-year lows.

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Egypt has one of the lowest rates of female labor-force participation (20%) in the world and perhaps the lowest rate of female representation in parliament (2%).

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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.

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