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US labor force participation rate is also at historic lows. A low unemployment rate only considers the active labor force. There aren't as many people working

• Grimburger 3y ago
  An ageing population means that participation rate is always trending downwards. People get strange about unemployment figures and how they are determined but the methodology hasn't changed in decades.
• dragonwriter 3y ago
  > US labor force participation rate is also at historic lows. No, its not. It was at a local (but not historic) low during the deepest part of the pandemic recession, and has been recovering rapidly since, looking set to soon reach prepandemic levels and continue the upward trend that was general course since the post-2000 decline bottomed out in 2016.
• chx 3y ago
  > US labor force participation rate is also at historic lows. Looking at the graph you linked it seems this historic low is the new baseline as it has not changed significantly since 2010 aside from a temporary dip in 2020 (gee, I can't imagine why that happened).
• Majromax 3y ago
  You're seeing demographics at work, rather than the upthread theory of "demand destruction." If you look specifically at the prime-age labor force participation rate (25-54 years, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=15nxN https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=15nxN), the current figures match pre-pandemic highs, which in turn match the 2004-7 level (pre-financial crisis).