Unemployment Falls to 8.2% in March as Labor Force Participation Falls to 63.8%
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report today shows that the U.S. unemployment fell by one tenth of a percent to 8.2% in March.
However, the Labor Force Participation rate also fell by one tenth of a percent, to 63.8%.
The Washington Dispatch began tracking the current employment recovery against that following the 1980s recovery with the release of January 2012 unemployment and labor force participation figures earlier this year. In February, Labor Force Participation rose slightly. March marked a return to the overall trend of declining Labor Force Participation, which has been the primary driving force behind falling unemployment. Compare the current trend with that of the 1980s recovery:
Since unemployment peaked at 10% in October 2009, its decline has mirrored the decline in Labor Force Participation. Looking at the same period of time following peak unemployment of 10.8% in December 1982, Labor Force Participation rose while unemployment fell.
Despite this trend, the Obama administration continues to embrace failed Keynesian ideology and refuses to embrace reality and pursue those policies which have proven successful in the past.