Originally posted at the Blacksphere
One of Friday’s Drudge Report headlines read:
The shocking title linked to an article entitled: “People Not in Labor Force Soar to Record 91.8 million; Participation Rate Plunges to 1978 Levels.” Here’s what the article says:
Curious why despite the huge miss in payrolls the unemployment rate tumbled from 7.0% to 6.7%? The reason is because in December the civilian labor force did what it usually does in the
New Normal: it dropped from 155.3 million to 154.9 million, which means the labor participation rate just dropped to a fresh 35 year low, hitting levels not seen since 1978, at 62.8% down from 63.0%.
And the piece de resistance: Americans not in the labor force exploded higher by 535,000 to a new all time high 91.8 million.
The author says: “The jobless, laborless recovery continues to steam on.”
I’m no math whiz, but based on my humble calculation, here’s what that 91.8 million number means:
As of 2012 the US population was 313,900,000.
There were 136,860,400 Americans, either under the age of 18, or over the age of 65, all considered part of the ‘ineligible to work’ group. That leaves 177,039,000 Americans who are in the age range of those eligible to work.
That means — if the Drudge’s headline is true, and 92 million of those eligible to work are no longer in the labor force, and if my rudimentary calculation is correct than 52% — more than one half of the US workforce is currently unemployed.
So if anyone tries to tell you that Barack Obama has been unsuccessful, just cite the 52% of out-of-the-labor-force figure.
The out-of-the-labor-force number proves, without a doubt, that the president has been wildly successful at consistently screwing up.
