Job seekers giving up: Labor force participation rate falls to lowest in 50 years, outside of Covid era

The unemployment rate dropped in the latest jobs report, but CNBC notes the improvement came for all the wrong reasons. Labor force participation has hit its lowest point in fifty years outside of the pandemic era. The dynamic: discouraged workers are leaving the labor force entirely rather than landing jobs. When job seekers give up, unemployment statistics improve on paper while the underlying weakness in the market deepens.

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