Here are some more pictures about labor participation rates for the last 16 years...with the link showing where they came from...
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
Data extracted on: February 4, 2012 (3:49:43 PM)
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
[TABLE="class: regular-data"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Year[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Jan[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Feb[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Mar[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Apr[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]May[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Jun[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Jul[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Aug[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Sep[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Oct[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Nov[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Dec[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #DDDDDD, align: center"]Annual[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2002[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: left"]2003[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2004[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: left"]2005[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2006[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: left"]2007[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2008[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: left"]2009[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2010[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: left"]2011[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: left"]2012[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]63.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
a picture is worth a whole bunch of words...
[TABLE="class: cms_table_regular-data"]
[TR="class: cms_table_odd"]
[/TR]
[TR="class: cms_table_odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center"]2008[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]66.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: cms_table_even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: center"]2009[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]65.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: cms_table_odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center"]2010[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.8[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]65.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.6[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.4[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.5[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]64.3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: cms_table_even"]
[TH="bgcolor: #DBEAFF, align: center"]2011[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"]64.0[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #EEF4FF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: cms_table_odd"]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center"]2012[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]63.7[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
and some more info. on employment and investment during "The One's" term in office...with a link to where it comes from...
http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2012/02/02/obama-the-great-divider-literally/
The flip side of the investment bust is the worst employment-to-population ratio since before the great Reagan recovery:
And from James Pethokuoukis...with the link..
http://blog.american.com/2012/02/wh...mber-and-what-it-means-for-obamas-reelection/
[h=2]
Why the official 8.3 percent unemployment rate is a phony number—and what it means for Obama’s reelection[/h]
By James Pethokoukis
February 3, 2012, 11:47 am
The January jobs report is out and it seems pretty strong, at least superficially. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent, the lowest rate since February 2009. And the economy added 243,000 jobs, the most since April 2011.
But does anyone believe an “official” unemployment rate of 8.3 percent really gives an accurate picture of the U.S. labor market? Even though the unemployment rate fell, so did the labor force participation rate (as more Americans became discouraged and gave up looking for work). Here’s what that means:
1. If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7 percent then vs. 63.7 percent today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.0 percent.
2. But let’s not go all the way back to January 2009. In January 2011, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent with a participation rate of 64.2 percent. If that were the participation rate today, the unemployment rate would be 8.9 percent, instead of 8.3 percent. As an analysis from Hamilton Place Strategies concludes, “Most of the shift of the past year is due not to the improvement in the labor market, but the continued drop in participation in the labor force.”
3. Now, to be fair, some of the decline in the participation rate is aging Baby Boomers dropping out of the labor force. But taking that into account still doesn’t get us very far, as HPS notes: