As the recruiting crisis spreads from the high-skills sectors to minimum wage jobs, more Americans are deciding to give work a chance.
That's what a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) labor force participation rate survey reveals. DOL said the labor participation rate — composed of working people and those actively looking for work — rose the tiniest bit, from 62.4 percent to 62.9 percent.
What key about that increase is that it's the first since the pre-recession days of 2008. Baby boomer retirements drove the rate down even as the economy revived. But now, so many folks are looking for jobs that the trend has been reversed.
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The all-time record for labor participation is 67.3 percent in 2000 — at least that's the high point since the DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics has been monitoring it. Prior to the recession, the rate topped 66 percent, then began a steady decline.
The trend reversed last fall, and with a couple of dips, has trended slowly upward ever since. The jobless rate has dropped to below 5 percent, which many economists consider to be a full employment rate.
Economists say the combination of aggressive recruiting campaigns by employers and a renewed interest in work by many who thought they'd never work again are driving the upward trend and offsetting the wave of baby boomer retirements. While skills shortage in tech and other high-skills industries have been well publicized, even low-wage jobs are becoming more appealing, as service industry employers are offering higher wages and benefits to plug gaping holes in their staffs.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
