According to the latest jobs numbers released by the Labor Department on Friday, something wonderful is happening: Americans are reentering the labor force, growing the size of the labor market at rates not seen for over 15 years.
"More than 800,000 Americans joined the labor force in February ... most bypassing unemployment and jumping straight into jobs. It was the largest one-month increase in the labor pool since 1983..." trumpeted the The Wall Street Journal in the wake of the thunderous jobs report, which showed a whopping 313,000 jobs added last month.
Why is this important? America has been facing a crisis of labor participation, which has been on a steady decline for several decades. To be counted in the labor force, a worker (over age 16) must be working or actively looking for work.
Labor participation rates peaked in January 2000, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a rate of 67.3%. By January 2017, the rate had fallen by almost 5 points, an alarming reduction.
Some of the overall drop in labor participation results from an aging population. Baby boomers are getting older and retiring from the workforce. There's also the issue of education, as more Americans delay entering the workforce to attain various post-high school degrees and certifications.
The complete story here > Trump administration is helping a lost generation of workers recover