Over Past Year, Working Age Population Increased by 1.8 Million; Only 1 in 32 Equal New Workers

A smaller percentage of Americans are working today than did four years ago. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payroll employment edged up by 114,000 in July as the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. Aside from the pandemic, the last time the unemployment rate was 4.3% or higher was almost seven years ago, in Oct. 2017. But the unemployment rate alone understates rising non-employment in the United States. Over the past year, the population of people ages 16 and older increased by 1.8 million, but the number of those...