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Why fewer working-age Americans are working

More than 300,000 people stopped working or looking for a job in August. Their exodus shrank the so-called labor force participation rate the percentage of adult Americans with a job or seeking one to 63.2 percent.

By Paul Wiseman | Updated on September 06, 2013
Applicants reach for registration forms to attend a job and career fair at Columbia University in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The drop in the unemployment rate in August to a 4½-year low was hardly cause for celebration. The rate fell because more people stopped looking for work.

More than 300,000 people stopped working or looking for a job. Their exodus shrank the so-called labor force participation rate — the percentage of adult Americans with a job or seeking one — to 63.2 percent. It’s the lowest participation rate since August 1978.

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