There Are Still Almost 8 Million Missing American Workers

Last time we talked about this, there were 7.95 million missing American workers, if we used the Pre-Recession 2007 Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of 65.70%.

As of August 2018, that figure hasn't changed much. There are still 7.77 million missing American workers, if we used the 2007 LFPR. The LFPR now stands at 62.70% as of August 2018, just 0.10% higher than the LFPR at the end of 2017.

Using the Pre-Recession 2007 Civilian Employment Population Ratio (EPR) of 63.00% leaves similar results: 7.04 million missing American workers. The EPR now stands at 60.30% as of August 2018, 0.70% higher than the EPR at the end of 2017.

It will take a long time for this slack to be reduced. The LFPR only bottomed out to 62.40% in 2015 and has climbed only 0.10% every year since then. Thus, it will take a staggering 31 years to cover the 3.10% gap in the LFPR.

 Therefore the US will continue to experience little to no wage inflation in the near future.

Related: Why There Will Be Little to No Wage Inflation: There are 8 Million Missing American Workers