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8.5 Million Americans Left Labor Force In Obama's First Term
Newsbusters ^ | February 1, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

Posted on 02/01/2013 12:21:27 PM PST by grundle

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released jobs numbers for January Friday showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent.

Lost in these headline numbers was another rise in the number of people not in the labor force.

This number now stands at a staggering 89 million, up from 80.5 million when President Obama took office.

This means that there are currently 8.5 million more Americans not in the labor force than just four years ago.

Forget all the other numbers.

This continued explosion of people not in the labor force should be tremendously concerning as it represents an obstacle for the government to ever balance the budget without drastically raising taxes on those still working.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: laborforce; outoflaborforce; quitlaborforce; unemployment

1 posted on 02/01/2013 12:21:33 PM PST by grundle
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To: grundle

3 million went on SSDI form 2009-2012:

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/dibStat.html


2 posted on 02/01/2013 12:25:34 PM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: grundle
I know that many of the people leaving the labor force now are Baby Boomers hitting retirement, but what I keep wondering to myself is, if the retiring Boomers were such a valuable and productive part of the workforce, why are so many of them simply not being replaced?

The fact that they aren't leads me to believe that many of them simply had positions and salaries that weren't justified by their actual value and productivity to their employers.

3 posted on 02/01/2013 12:32:48 PM PST by jpl (The government spent another half a million bucks in the time it just took you to read this tagline.)
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To: grundle

How can the current emperor even pretend to know how to create jobs and prosperity when he can’t even keep his senior staff? :-) /s


4 posted on 02/01/2013 12:44:29 PM PST by Real Cynic No More
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To: grundle

.


5 posted on 02/01/2013 1:17:05 PM PST by skinkinthegrass (who'll take tomorrow,spend it all today;who can take your income,tax it all away..0'Bozo man can :-)
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To: grundle

What difference does it make now!! they have already left the job market.


6 posted on 02/01/2013 1:30:55 PM PST by eyeamok
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To: jpl
I know that many of the people leaving the labor force now are Baby Boomers hitting retirement, but what I keep wondering to myself is, if the retiring Boomers were such a valuable and productive part of the workforce, why are so many of them simply not being replaced?

I watch Varney & Co. in the morning on FoxBusiness. This morning they were talking about this and Charles Payne pointed out that older workers are staying on past retirement. This means that jobs aren't opening up for the younger worker.

On a personal note, I know that my hubby is planning, now, on working until around 70 because of the hit his retirement fund took in 2008. As he puts it: his 401K became a 201K.

I'm not saying that this is the whole problem; but, it could be a part of the problem.

Also, if a company, in these times, is looking to downsize a bit; well, not replacing someone who has retired is a good way to do it.

7 posted on 02/01/2013 1:35:53 PM PST by LibertarianLiz
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To: grundle

As the baby boomers have started to reach retirement age... wouldn’t it be expected to be seeing millions leaving the labor force?


8 posted on 02/01/2013 2:07:56 PM PST by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
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To: TexasFreeper2009

A fair question, and I know “they” predict losses in the labor force when the baby boomers start retiring. I doubt that an analysis of those who have left has been done. One thing for sure is the many of those formerly in the labor force are now on the DL.


9 posted on 02/01/2013 2:29:50 PM PST by andyk (I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)
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To: grundle

I got laid off in 2009 one week before my 50th birthday and said screw it, I’m not pulling the wagon anymore and just called it retirement.


10 posted on 02/01/2013 2:39:38 PM PST by Boiling point (Socialism; Ideas so good they have to be mandatory.)
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