tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post56826803707714112..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: 2017Catherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-53168265831824337312015-08-28T00:20:37.572-07:002015-08-28T00:20:37.572-07:00I've definitely seen more SAHM's returning...I've definitely seen more SAHM's returning to paid employment since the labor market strengthened and fewer women quitting their paid jobs to become SAHM's. Even if someone is home raising kids by choice, that choice is a LOT easier to make when the labor market is weak. Crimson Wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03254830856234479999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-15648679223223234812015-08-05T17:57:46.018-07:002015-08-05T17:57:46.018-07:00"... everyone else I read seems to think we&#..."... everyone else I read seems to think we'll never return to pre-recession job levels -- 'never' meaning not in this generation, at least. A big chunk of workers has been sidelined, the thinking goes, and they're not coming back."<br /><br />I think some of the unhappiness about pre-recession job levels is because the "Labor Force Participation Rate" is at something like a 38 year low (http://www.businessinsider.com/labor-force-participation-rate-falls-to-38-year-low-2015-7 and http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/record-93626000-americans-not-labor-force-participation-rate-declines-626).<br /><br />But Labor Force Participation Rate scores everyone 16 and older who has a job. As our population ages, the participation rate will drop because we'll have a larger percentage of the population in the retired age range.<br /><br />We're probably *NOT* getting back to late-1990s labor force participation rates for a long time (maybe ever). We may well get back to the pre-recession rate for the 25 to 54 year old crowd.<br /><br /><br />NOTE: The Labor Force Participation Rate dropping is going to be a thing all by itself ... where do we get the resources for the retirees to consume? The only real answer is "from the working folks," so as the percentage of adults working drops (and the percentage of adults retired rises) there will be more strain on the system.<br /><br />-Mark RouloAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com