Monday, February 10, 2014

A Great Disturbance in the Civilian Labor Force


Click to enlarge.

The blue line (left scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54. It peaked in the late 1990s and it has been pretty much going down ever since.

The red line (left scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 55 and over. It bottomed in the early 1990s and it has been generally going up ever since (recent flattening notwithstanding).

The green line (right scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54 divided by the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 55 and over.

In a truly healthy economy, should those aged 25 to 54 really be dropping out of the labor force at faster pace than those aged 55 and over (as seen in that green line since the early 1990s)?



Wikipedia: Giant Sucking Sound

The "giant sucking sound" was United States Presidential candidate Ross Perot's colorful phrase for what he believed would be the negative effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he opposed.

In space no one can hear you scream suck.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

7 comments:

Stagflationary Mark said...

As a side note, we've never seen the labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54 fall at the same time the rate of those 55 and over fell.

Perhaps that time is coming soon to an economy near you.

The blue line continues to fall and the red line may be starting to peak. Maybe.

mab said...

In a truly healthy economy, should those aged 25 to 54 really be dropping out of the labor force at faster pace than those aged 55 and over (as seen in that green line since the early 1990s)?

Oh, I see, you want to talk about real issues. I've got just one word for you laddie:

Black helicopters!

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Black helicopters!

Yes!! Now we're talking!

The TRUTH About Black Helicopters!

Black Helicopters have a complex reproductive cycle with different phases. They start out as seed crystals that are injected into a biological host organism -- typically cattle but occasionally humans -- by either human technicians or other Black Helicopters. It has also been theorized that seed crystals have been sprayed from military and possibly civil aircraft in the form of so-called "chemtrails", which then enter the body of a host via the food and/or water supply or direct dermal contact.

You have to check out the "Diagram of Black Helicopter Life Cycle" about half way down! Hahaha! :)

mab said...

seed crystals have been sprayed from military and possibly civil aircraft in the form of so-called "chemtrails", which then enter the body of a host via the food and/or water supply or direct dermal contact.

Knew it! I am sooooo long on tinfoil!

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

I am sooooo long on tinfoil!

I've heard that fly paper works pretty good. You can trap the black helicopters before they grow too much.

The trick is to put some "anarchy pheromones" on it first though. The black helicopters apparently love that stuff.

mab said...

Fly paper, huh?

I'm "sticking" with my Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie

That MIT study refuting the effectiveness of AFDB's was a psy-op.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Nice.

It's no substitute for a Faraday House though.

Faraday House, the home of Syracuse University London, is an ideal space for educational conferences, meetings and training events.

I bet it is. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. ;)