Labor Participation Rate Drops To 36 Year Low; Record 92.6 Million Americans Not In Labor Force
While by now everyone should know the answer, for those curious why the US unemployment rate just slid once more to a meager 5.9%, the lowest print since the summer of 2008, the answer is the same one we have shown every month since 2010: the collapse in the labor force participation rate, which in September slid from an already three decade low 62.8% to 62.7% – the lowest in over 36 years, matching the February 1978 lows. And while according to the Household Survey, 232,000 people found jobs, what is more disturbing is that the people not in the labor force, rose to a new record high, increasing by 315,000 to 92.6 million!
4 Of 5 Top Job Additions In September Were Low Or Minimum Wage
Interested why despite the euphoric headline NFP print, a cursory glance deeper inside the payrolls report reveals weakness after weakness, with both participation plunging again and wages the worst since last summer? Here is the answer: 4 of the top 5 largest job additions in September, retail trade, leisure and hospitality, education and health and temp help, were of the lowest quality, and paying, jobs possible. So yes, America added a whole lot of minimum wage waiters, store clerks, groundskeepers and temps: truly the stuff New Normal “recoveries” are made of.
The Wageless Recovery: Average Hourly Earnings Suffer First Monthly Decline Since July 2013
What happened in September when the BLS just reported that average hourly earnings for all private industries were $24.53, is that this was only one of 6 months since the failure of Lehman, when there a sequential decline in average hourly earnings, down from $24.54 in August.
Or for those still drinking Kool-aid:
Unemployment falls below 6% for first time since 2008
The unemployment rate fell last month because more people were getting jobs, not because they were dropping out of the labor force as they have at times during the economic recovery. The number of people in the workforce was essentially unchanged.
