The number of people not in the labor force rose by 19,000 in April to 93.19 million. That figure is up 1.3% from a year earlier and up 0.3% from the beginning of the year.
Over the past 10 years, Americans not in the labor force has grown at an annual pace of 2%.
But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April Current Population Survey, the number of discouraged workers (those who did not actively look for work in the prior four weeks for reasons such as: thinking no work available; could not find work; lacked schooling or training; and employer thought too young or old or other types of discrimination) fell 3.4% year-over-year to 756,000.
