A record number of Americans aren't in the labor force

While the April jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed just 5.4 percent unemployment, a less noticed figure paints a grimmer picture: The labor force participation rate stayed low, at 62.8 percent, and a record 93,194,000 Americans are not in the labor force. This participation rate has stayed essentially the same for about a year, though the total count of people outside the labor force has increased.

The distinction between "unemployed" and "not in the labor force" can seem like a matter of semantics, but it's actually pretty significant. To be unemployed, according to the BLS, means you are an adult who does "not have a job, [has] actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and [is] currently available for work."

To be out of the labor force is to be an adult who does not have a job and is not looking for one. That category could include people who don't want a job because they're retired or staying home to raise children, but it also includes people who would like to work but have become so discouraged in the job-seeking process that they've stopped looking altogether.

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