(CNSNews.com) - A record 92,269,000 Americans 16 and older did not
participate in the labor force in August, as the labor force
participation rate matched a 36-year low of 62.8 percent, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force participation rate has been as low as 62.8 percent in
six of the last twelve months, but prior to last October had not
fallen that low since 1978.
BLS employment statistics are based on the civilian noninstitutional
population, which consists of all people 16 or older who were not in
the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or
nursing home.
In August, the civilian noninstitutional population was 248,229,000
according to BLS. Of that 248,229,000, 155,959,000—or 62.8
percent--participated in the labor force, meaning they either had or job
or had actively sought one in the last four weeks.
