LABOR-PARTICIPATION RATE LOWEST IN 38 YEARS

NEW YORK – While President Obama plans in his upcoming State of the Union address to tout 5.6 percent unemployment in December as another sign of a “recovery” generated by his economic policies, a record 92.9 million Americans are no longer in the labor force, as the labor participation rate hit a new 38-year low last month, at 62.7 percent.

Adjusting the BLS unemployment number to report what is known as “U-6” – a measure that includes total unemployed plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force plus total part-time employed for economic reasons – unemployment in April was 11.2 percent.

Economist John Williams, editor of ShadowStats.com, a website known for arguing the government reports are manipulated for political purposes, has calculated that the “real unemployment rate” – taking into consideration those who have dropped out of the labor force because of lack of work – has remained above 23 percent since April 2013.
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