Aggregate Labor Force Participation

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08.14.08

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The labor force participation rate--the percentage of the working-age population (16 years and older) employed or looking for a job--rode an upward trend for 30 years, rising from less than 60 percent in the 1960s to about 67 percent in the late 1990s. After peaking at 67.3 percent in the first quarter of 2000, the participation rate fell steadily to around 66 percent by early 2005 and has remained at around 66 percent since then.

The aggregate labor force participation rate typically reported is a more complicated measure than a simple average. It is the weighted sum of the labor force participation rates of all the separate age …