The U.S. economy shed jobs in July, yet the unemployment rate improved — an unusual pairing that points to a worrying story unfolding behind the numbers for some economists.
That’s because even as the U.S. economy lost jobs, American workers left the labor market faster.
Mom’s basement might be the answer.
Labor participation rate just went down to 61.4% - https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm
We have a lot of retirees right now. There are 56 million people over 65 receiving SS according to the SSA. The 25-54 participation rate is a better measurement of whose actually working:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060