A smaller percentage of Americans are working today than did four years ago.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payroll employment edged up by 114,000 in July as the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. Aside from the pandemic, the last time the unemployment rate was 4.3% or higher was almost seven years ago, in Oct. 2017.
But the unemployment rate alone understates rising non-employment in the United States.
Over the past year, the population of people ages 16 and older increased by 1.8 million, but the number of those who are employed rose by only 57,000. That means only one out of every 32 was a net increase in employment.
Whereas the unemployment rate tells us the percent of people who want jobs but do not have them, the employment-to-population ratio tells us what percent of people are working.
Over the past year, the employment-to-population ratio of…
