The decline was mainly due to 342,000 people leaving the labor force, meaning the BLS had stopped counting them as unemployed. The number of employed people in the nation actually fell by 169,000.
About 12.5 million people are still unemployed, and a record 88.4 million people are considered "not in the labor force," according to the BLS. The labor-force participation rate -- the percentage of the work-age population either working or looking for work -- dropped to 63.6 percent, the lowest since December 1981.
"It's hard to see the good news here," David Semmens, senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered, wrote in a research note.
Obama will consider this a success.......
About 12.5 million people are still unemployed, and a record 88.4 million people are considered "not in the labor force," according to the BLS. The labor-force participation rate -- the percentage of the work-age population either working or looking for work -- dropped to 63.6 percent, the lowest since December 1981.
"It's hard to see the good news here," David Semmens, senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered, wrote in a research note.
Obama will consider this a success.......