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Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

cnbc.com

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Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#61

Post by mwwaters »

arealaccount wrote: post #5
crossbody wrote: post #4

Sounds more like people retire somewhat early - for 25-54yo labor force participation near all time high: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060 And here is one for 55+yo: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11324230 All is fine

> However, in June the biggest plunge came from what is defined as “prime age” workers, or those between the ages of 25 and 54. That rate fell 0.6 percentage point to 83.3%, its lowest since December 2023. It's great how two sources can tell a completely different story about the same numbers.

The first FRED link shows how noisy that subgroup is. It’s bounced around with 83-84% during that time. It was 83.8% in March and 83.5% through much of 2024.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#62

Post by jjk166 »

crossbody wrote: post #4

Sounds more like people retire somewhat early - for 25-54yo labor force participation near all time high: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060 And here is one for 55+yo: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11324230 All is fine

It's likely not even people retiring early, just demographics shifting up the ages. The youngest baby boomers are 61. The percentage of Americans over the age of 60 increased from 22.8% in 2020 to 25% in 2025. Also the younger cohorts moving into the labor force are smaller as well.

https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/2...

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#63

Post by amatecha »

theodric wrote: post #56
SlightlyLeftPad wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you must pay tribute in the form of thousands of dollars in property taxes. Your first born child may also be acceptable.

€98/yr Not everywhere is America, fellow hacker.

Whoa nice, that's nuts. Curious what country if you don't mind sharing! No worries if not

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#64

Post by giobox »

klipklop wrote: post #55

Take an hour off at 2-3pm in any major US city and look at how many people are just milling about. Mostly shopping. There are a lot of people in the US that are not working. Pre-2008 retail was quiet in the middle of the day, now it booms. I can’t comment on if this is a good or bad thing, but I am surprised at how many people are causally walking their dog as I am rushing to compete an essential errand and get back…

I think this is going to be a much more common sight in most major western economies - many of them have a rapidly growing aged retired population and a declining young working segment etc.

The effects of this change are definitely being felt, good and bad, in many countries already.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#65

Post by bayarearefugee »

mothballed wrote: post #27
crossbody wrote: post #4

Sounds more like people retire somewhat early - for 25-54yo labor force participation near all time high: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060 And here is one for 55+yo: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11324230 All is fine

55+ crushing it on the asset inflation mania they got at ~zero interest, the youngins left holding the bag of the inflationary cost renting out houses their seniors got negative real interest mortgages for.

> 55+ crushing it on the asset inflation mania

Not all of them, some of them have just been pushed out of the workforce unwillingly due to ageism while still financially insecure.

I'm all about people being angry with the current situation and pushing for class war, but blanket assumptions about any demographic, including those of a certain age, is not helpful.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#66

Post by CalRobert »

amatecha wrote: post #63
theodric wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

€98/yr Not everywhere is America, fellow hacker.

Whoa nice, that's nuts. Curious what country if you don't mind sharing! No worries if not

No idea where they are but when I had a very cheap house in Ireland the property taxes were only a bit over €100 per year.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#67

Post by jjulius »

klipklop wrote: post #55

Take an hour off at 2-3pm in any major US city and look at how many people are just milling about. Mostly shopping. There are a lot of people in the US that are not working. Pre-2008 retail was quiet in the middle of the day, now it booms. I can’t comment on if this is a good or bad thing, but I am surprised at how many people are causally walking their dog as I am rushing to compete an essential errand and get back…

Asking because I'm genuinely curious myself, how much of this is unemployment vs the fact that so many more people work from home now compared to pre-2008? Many of those that WFH work a more flexible schedule and probably structure their days a lot differently than 20+ years ago.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#68

Post by cherryteastain »

0x20cowboy wrote: post #53
crossbody wrote: post #4

Sounds more like people retire somewhat early - for 25-54yo labor force participation near all time high: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060 And here is one for 55+yo: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11324230 All is fine

I suppose it’s in how you word it. I’ve given up on trying to get a job because there is no point in trying. I can’t afford to pay my rent, but I guess you could call that early retirement.

Point of labor participation is that it's independent of whether you want to be employed or not.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#69

Post by kelseyfrog »

We live in a capitalist society. This means we prioritize making money via capital rather than through labor. It looks like we just got what we've asked for. I'm not sure what the problem is.

If you're playing labor in a capitalist society, you're playing a losing strategy.

Re: Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation falls to lowest in 50 years

#70

Post by loeg »

Loughla wrote: post #47
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The current regime and the previous regime both reported extremely low unemployment outside of the pandemic but don't let your partisan bigotry get in the way of facts. You are the reason why the uniparty is able to do this, as you will always be willingly blind to it as long as it has the right color coating on it. You are personally at fault.

I mean, the current party in power is making out in the open moves to profit directly from tanking the federal government. What's the centrist view in this one? A little robber baroning as a treat?

There's a lot of real things you can criticize the current admin for, but "recession" isn't one of them.
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