Job Seekers Are Giving Up

“On the surface, a June drop in the unemployment rate helped provide some upside to what was an otherwise downbeat jobs report — but it was for all the wrong reasons,” CNBC reports.

“That’s because the decline in the jobless level to 4.2%, the lowest in a year, came largely from an exodus of workers from the labor force.”

“In fact, the measure of the working-age population either employed or looking for a job slid to 61.5%, the lowest since March 2021. Excluding the Covid-era jobs market, it was the lowest labor force participation rate in exactly 50 years.”

Reuters: Weak jobs, declining labor force, could renew Fed debate over state of labor market.