The US economy is warming up - at least for those participating. Job gains last month were a solid 236,000, according to Friday's report, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent. The improving trajectory suggests a degree of fiscal austerity isn't derailing growth. But labour force participation dipped again to match a three-decade low.
The details of the report were encouraging. Professional and business services added 73,000 jobs and construction added 48,000. Because the count of government employees declined slightly, private sector job creation was even better than the headline. Worries that higher payroll levies and other tax increases that started in January might dent job creation seem to have been overblown.
The reduced jobless rate, though, is misleading. Participation in the labor force slipped back to 63.5 per cent, the low point seen last August but otherwise not since 1981. Overall, the participation rate has declined by 2.5 percentage points in the last five years. The picture is worse than the average for men and less bad for adult women, whose participation is still well above the levels of the 1980s.
Perhaps most worrisome is the decline in teenage working - this measure of participation, at 34.7 per cent, is down 5.4 percentage points in the last five years.
A much steeper drop-off since the 1980s may have a lot to do with more prevalent higher education. But the shorter-term decline coincides with the economic downturn. It's possible that an increase in the minimum wage to $9 an hour, proposed by President Barack Obama last month, could further reduce the chances of this group landing jobs.
On the other hand, the trends suggest that training opportunities and other programmes that address long-term workforce withdrawal - especially among younger potential employees -are an urgent priority. It looks increasingly as though the US economic engine is gathering steam. But labour participation figures show not everyone is feeling it. A long trough has left many Americans disconnected from the upturn, presenting a challenge for Obama and lawmakers in Congress.
The details of the report were encouraging. Professional and business services added 73,000 jobs and construction added 48,000. Because the count of government employees declined slightly, private sector job creation was even better than the headline. Worries that higher payroll levies and other tax increases that started in January might dent job creation seem to have been overblown.
The reduced jobless rate, though, is misleading. Participation in the labor force slipped back to 63.5 per cent, the low point seen last August but otherwise not since 1981. Overall, the participation rate has declined by 2.5 percentage points in the last five years. The picture is worse than the average for men and less bad for adult women, whose participation is still well above the levels of the 1980s.
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A much steeper drop-off since the 1980s may have a lot to do with more prevalent higher education. But the shorter-term decline coincides with the economic downturn. It's possible that an increase in the minimum wage to $9 an hour, proposed by President Barack Obama last month, could further reduce the chances of this group landing jobs.
On the other hand, the trends suggest that training opportunities and other programmes that address long-term workforce withdrawal - especially among younger potential employees -are an urgent priority. It looks increasingly as though the US economic engine is gathering steam. But labour participation figures show not everyone is feeling it. A long trough has left many Americans disconnected from the upturn, presenting a challenge for Obama and lawmakers in Congress.