I am sorry but I must respond.
I am not debating you. I am merely attempting to satisfy my own self that I can finally express my concerns.
OK, the age-related participation rates make sense. I know from personal experience that finding work in the mid-50s-plus is difficult and so of course the participation suffers.
As for the census and BLS adjustments v. people disappearing well one economist is quoted as saying (I think it's call Tweetting or something now): There was not a big increase in discouraged workers,' economist Betsey Stevenson commented on Twitter. 'What happened was Census found a bunch of old people we had assumed died.' Read more: http://advisorperspectives.com/dshort/guest/Lance-Roberts-120206-Not-in-Labor-Force-Analysis.php#ixzz1llXfZtKh
So somehow it was determined that all these old people were out there so we have to include them. Fine. My issue is HOW were they determined to be out there.
The two biggest adjustments to populations have been in 2000 and 2012 -- both Democratic incumbent presidents with connections to 1960s Marxist radicals (campus spoiled brats actually) and both election years with economic issues.
The population adjustments are estimates made year-to-year. Who really knows what's what and who's who?
Furthermore with the census adjusted, the "data used to estimate the labor force participation rate is obtained along with other labor force data from the monthly Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60000 households. The answers to the survey given by those households are interpreted largely by computers.
How the computer interprets is determined by tables. Those tables are populated by government GS employees. Those government GS employees answer to the White House.
There are no questions on the survey like "Are you marginally attached to . . . ?" The questions have to be interpreted to make determinations relevant to the purpose of the survey -- and I am saying to get the answers that the White House wants or at least as close as possible.