Ten Times More Workers Quit Labor Force Than Have Entered
8.2 Million Workers Leave U.S. Labor Force Since Obama Took Office
"A large number of workers have become so discouraged that they simply stopped looking for work and left the labor force entirely."
A new chart from the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee details the fact that, since January 2009, for every person added to the labor force, 10 have been added to those not in the labor force. That is, in nearly the four years, since President Obama took office in January 2009, only 827,000 people have been added to the labor force, while during that same time period, 8,208,000 have been added to those not in the labor force.
The labor force consists of all people aged 16 and over either employed or actively seeking work. It does not include discouraged workers, people who have retired, or those on welfare or disability who are no longer looking for work. The chart relies on data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since January 2009, the labor force has grown by 0.54 percent, or 827,000 people (from 154,236,000 to 155,063,000). Those not in the labor force grew by 10.2 percent during the same period (8,208,000 people).