[Hoot Gibson]

This is an interesting blog that shows the number of people not in the labor force reaching a 30 year high.

Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low

Here is a graph that I created at the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows the number of people not in the labor market from the time that Bush took office through the present. The thing to remember is that the more people that BLS determines are no longer looking for work, the lower the unemployment rate becomes. This is where a person desperate to cling to the power of the presidency might be tempted to influence the numbers in an election year.

Play particular attention to how steep the upward slope on the end ot the line is.

[Image: http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/grap...465195.gif]

Here is a close-up, showing just the past year. Does anybody else think that the trend looks suspicious in an economy that is supposedly improving by leaps and bounds?

(Actually the blogger's math was wrong. I.57 million people left the job market in the last month, according to Obama's BLS.)

[Image: http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/grap...875984.gif]