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The BLS U.3 unemployment rate fell in October to 5.8% from 5.9% in September.
The Labor Force Participation rate rose to 62.8% from 62.7%.
The Employment/Population Ratio rose to 59.2% from 59%.
The contribution of these two factors to the Unemployment Rate is shown in the chart below.
This is a good result, with the Labor Force rising yet Employment rising faster.
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The relationship between the three measures is as follows:
UR = (LR – ER) / LR
Where LR is the Labor Force Participation Rate, and ER is the Employment Ratio.
Note how a decrease in the participation rate on its own, reduces the unemployment rate: The number of available workers drops, and thus there are relatively fewer unemployed – even in the absence of job growth. This is what has happened in the recovery since the “Great Recession”.
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| U.S. Unemployment Rate. Seasonally Adjusted. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Labor Force Mlns | Rate (%) | Monthly Change (%pts) | Year/Year Change (%pts) | ||||||||
| Oct. 2013 |
Oct. 2014 |
Oct. 2013 |
Aug. 2014 |
Sep. 2014 |
Oct. 2014 |
Aug. 2014 |
Sep. 2014 |
Oct. 2014 |
Aug. 2014 |
Sep. 2014 |
Oct. 2014 |
|
| All Ages (16+) | 154.6 | 156.3 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.8 | -0.1 | -0.2 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -1.3 | -1.4 |
| 16 to 19 years | 5.7 | 5.9 | 22.0 | 19.6 | 20.0 | 18.6 | -0.6 | 0.4 | -1.4 | -3.0 | -1.3 | -3.4 |
| 20 to 24 years | 15.6 | 15.7 | 12.2 | 10.6 | 11.4 | 10.5 | -0.7 | 0.8 | -0.9 | -2.2 | -1.4 | -1.7 |
| 25 years and over | 133.6 | 134.8 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.1 | -0.4 | 0.0 | -0.9 | -1.2 | -1.3 |
| 25 to 34 years | 33.6 | 34.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0.3 | -0.7 | 0.0 | -0.9 | -1.1 | -1.0 |
| 35 to 44 years | 32.4 | 32.4 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 0.0 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.8 | -1.3 | -1.3 |
| 45 to 54 years | 34.2 | 33.9 | 5.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -0.1 | -1.2 | -1.4 | -1.9 |
| 55 years and over | 33.3 | 34.1 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 0.1 | -0.7 | 0.2 | -0.5 | -1.4 | -1.3 |
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