Feb. 5, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the latest jobs numbers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
“Since 2007, the population of 16 to 64 year olds has increased by about 10 million to 205 million. Yet, the number of people with jobs that age has remained unchanged at 140.4 million. As a result the employment-population for 16 to 64 year olds has dropped, from 71.8 percent to 68.5 percent, the labor force participation rate from 75.3 percent to 72.4 percent — accounting for 6 million people in the prime working years of their lives who simply gave up looking for work. If they were included in today’s unemployment report, the unemployment rate would be 8.9 percent and not the reported 4.9 percent.
“The economy never recovered from the Great Recession, and if we continue on this path of ignoring the real problem, it never will.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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