4/5 wrote:Labor force participation rate measures the percentage of the working age population who are currently in the labor force, meaning that they are either employed or are actively seeking employment. This number was 63.3% in Feb '20 and is now 61.6% but has shown remarkably little movement since the immediate bounce back in June….It could be that a lot of older people decided to retire early rather than re-enter the labor force, but either way this is definitely a number to watch.
There were 152.5 million people employed Feb '20 and it's at 148.3 million now so that's still a sizeable gap from pre-pandemic.
Came across this from Pew today:
Between 2008 and 2019, the retired population ages 55 and older grew by about 1 million retirees per year. In the past two years, the ranks of retirees 55 and older have grown by 3.5 million.
Re: Does anyone care about the economy?
Posted: Sat January 08, 2022 2:03 am
by elliseamos
I know two teachers (in a small district) that retired this year instead of their planned exit next year. Like was guessed in the quote from 4/5, I have to imagine that's a decent slice of this gap.
Here's a helpful video that should assuage any irrational fears about the I word.
"Prices have gone up, and families and individuals are dealing with the realities of of...that bread costs more, that gas costs more. And we have to understand what that means. That's about the cost of living going up."
Re: Does anyone care about the economy?
Posted: Wed January 19, 2022 12:29 am
by macphisto
Re: Does anyone care about the economy?
Posted: Thu January 20, 2022 4:53 pm
by 4/5
It was disappointing when Krugman apologized for initially (correctly!) blasting price controls as a stupid idea.
