US Labor Participation Rate Drops To 36 Year Low; Record 92.6 Million Americans Not In Labor Force

Submitted by Tyler Durden: While by now everyone should know the answer, for those curious why the US unemployment rate just slid once more to a meager 5.9%, the lowest print since the summer of 2008, the answer is the same one we have shown every month since 2010: the collapse in the labor force participation rate, which in September slid from an already three decade low 62.8% to 62.7% - the lowest in over 36 years, matching the February 1978 lows. And while according to the Household Survey, 232,000 people found jobs, what is more disturbing is that the people not in the labor force, rose to a new record high, increasing by 315,000 to 92.6 million!

And that's how you get a fresh cycle low in the unemployment rate.

So the next time Obama asks you if you are "better off now than 6 years ago" show him this chart of employment to the overall population: it speaks louder than the president ever could.

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