There Are Now 8.6 Million Missing American Workers

Everyone knows how unemployment surged through the roof. In a span of two weeks, 10 million people claimed filed for unemployment benefits. The scale is unimaginable. Look at the chart.

But what is less publicized is that the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) dropped by 0.70% in one month, from 63.4% in February 2020 to just 62.7% in March 2020. So, over 1.6 million people dropped off from the labor force and have gone missing.

There are now 8.6 million people missing from the labor force since the Great Recession began in December 2007 because the LFPR dropped from 66.0% pre-recession to a current 62.7% today.

We are now back to August 2018 levels. This figure reflects only the 3.0 million people that became unemployed in the last week of March 2020. In the first week of April 2020, 6.6 million more people became unemployed, which will lead to further and bigger drops in the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate for April.

The Beginnings of Wage Inflation

Last year, we estimated that pointed out that there were still 7.4 million workers missing from the labor force. The presence of so many missing workers would dampen wage growth for some time to come. Today, the number of missing workers is down slightly to 6.8 million workers as of January 2020.

And, true enough, wage growth has remained rather subdued given the low official unemployment rate of 3.6% as of January 2020.

But certain sectors of the labor market are starting to tighten. For instance, the prime age (25 to 54 years old) working group is now reflecting a shortage of workers of 191 thousand people.

This indicates that wages for this age group could tighten in the not too distant future.

The tightness of the prime working age group is not shared equally among the sexes. The labor market for Prime Age Women Workers is very tight, with an estimated shortage of almost 1 million women as of January 2020.

For men, it is an altogether a different story. There are still around 800K Prime Age men missing from the labor market..

This gap for Prime Age men is being filled very slowly, only a few thousand a month. But once that gap is filled, wages should start rising up.

Related Posts: Why There Is Still No Wage Inflation: There are 8.1 Million Missing American Workers

Who Are the Missing American Workers?

Last year, we estimated that there were almost 8 million workers missing from the labor force. Because of job growth, that number is down slightly to 7.4 million.

With the exception of DC and MA, most states have not recovered their pre-recession Labor Force Participation Rates (LFPR).

Prime Age Workers (those aged 25 to 54) are within a hair's breadth of their pre-recession LFPRs, indicating that labor markets may start to tighten very soon. However, wage inflation may be muted for the time being. Why? There are huge pools of labor waiting to take up the slack, particularly in the 20-24 and teenage (16 to 19) age groups. Their LFPRs are still significantly below their pre-recession peaks. The oldest age bracket (55+) actually have a higher participation rates post-recession than pre-recession, indicating that many of them are not ready to retire and/or are working part-time jobs. All these factors serve to suppress wage inflation.

In terms of absolute numbers, there are at least 1.5 million young workers missing from the labor force, plus another 1.3 million older workers hanging on to the labor force.

It would take several more years of sustained job growth to reduce this labor slack.

Unemployment is Low But Wage Inflation is Low Too. Which States Have the Tightest Labor Markets?

Last month, the unemployment rate was an astounding 3.7% - a rate not seen since September 1969.

But for most of the last decade, wage inflation has been low to almost non-existent. Only recently have wages started to creep up.

One reason? Both the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rates (LFPR) and Civilian Employment to Population Ratios (EPR) have yet to reach their pre-recession peak in 2007 and their absolute peak in 2000, during the height of the dotcom bubble.

The gaps are substantial, involving millions of missing workers. For instance, if last month's LFPR were 65.70% (2007 pre-recession peak) instead of an actual 63.20%, there would be 6.5 million more workers counted in the labor force today.

If we had posted an EPR of 63.00% (2007 peak) instead of the current 60.90%, there would be 5.6 million more workers employed today.

Instead, all those workers have gone missing from the labor force. One reason why wage inflation has not been stronger is that all these missing workers are slowly starting to come back to the labor force and kept a lid on wage inflation.

But that is starting to change. Some states have reached, if not surpassed, their pre-recession LFPRs and EPRs and are starting to experience a shortage of workers.Where are those shortages? DC and Massachussets come to mind (in green). Thirteen other states (in yellow) are getting close, with less than 2% of their civilian non-institutional populations (CINP) labeled as missing. Sadly, five states (in red) have more than 5% of their workers categorized as missing from the labor force.

In terms of EPR, DC and MA have actual shortages (in green) while six other states have less than 2% of their CINPs categorized as missing (in yellow). Seven states have more than 5% of their CINPs categorized as missing.

If you add the percentage of missing workers to the state's unemployment rate, we get a closer picture of where the true unemployment rates lie. Again, DC and MA (in green) have very low true unemployment rates, while four other states (in yellow) have true unemployment rates of less than 5%. Seven states (in red) have true unemployment rates of 12% or more of their CINPs.

Why There Is Still No Wage Inflation: There are 8.1 Million Missing American Workers

Last year, we pointed out that there would be little to no wage inflation because there were still 8 million American workers missing from the labor force. That was when the unemployment rate was at 4.1% as of February 2018. Today, as of June 2019, the unemployment rate is even lower still - a decades low 3.7% and there is still no wage inflation.

Yes, wages are rising but at less than a measly $0.75 gain a year while the inflation rate has been hovering at around 2% for the past ten years.

The reason for this? Labor Force Participation Rates (LFPR) and Employment-Population Ratios (EPR) have yet to recover their Pre-Recession peak.

If the June 2019 LFPR had reached their pre-recession peak of 66.0%, the US would have roughly 8.1 million more workers in the labor force than it has now. Likewise, if the June 2019 EPR  had reached their pre-recession peak of 62.9%, the US would have roughly 6.0 million more people employed than it has now.

This means that the millions of people who disappeared from the labor force during the Great Recession are starting to reappear and get jobs and that has held wages down. The gains in LFPR and EPR have been very gradual, and at this rate, it may take years, if not decades for the economy to finally recover.


There Are Still Almost 8 Million Missing American Workers

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

Where is the US Labor Market Slack and Where is it Tight?

In our last post, we explained why there has been surprisingly little wage inflation in the USA despite the persistence of a historically low unemployment rate. The simple reason for low wage inflation. There are around 8 million missing workers who dropped off the labor force.

In this post, we are trying to map out where those missing workers are by state using the pre-recession peaks in the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and the Employment to Population Ratio (EPR).

In terms of absolute numbers, California, Florida, and Texas have the highest number of missing workers. The states with lowest number of missing workers are District of Columbia, Massachussets, North Dakota, and Vermont.

In relative terms, the results are very different. At 6.75%, New Mexico has the highest percentage of missing worker relative to its Civilian Noninstitutional Population (CNIP). Neighboring New Mexico has the next highest percentage, 6.46%, closely followed by Wyoming at 6.26%.

The tightest labor markets are the District of Columbia with a shortage of 1.82% of its CNIP. Massachussets also suffers from a shortage of workers: 0.61% of CNIP. Wisconsin is next with an excess number of workers that amounts to 1.03% of its CNIP.

A similar dynamic plays out using the pre-recession Employment to Population Ratio.

Once again, California, Florida, and Texas have the highest absolute numbers of missing workers. On the flip side, both Massachussets and the District of Columbia have a shortage of workers. North Dakota and Vermont have a miniscule amount of missing workers.

Relative to their CNIPs, Nevada (6.33%), New Mexico (5.62%), and Wyoming (5.50%) have the highest percentages of missing workers. The District of Columbia has an acute shortage of workers (-2.28%). Massachussets is just about balanced, and Maryland's missing workers amount to 1.10% of its CNIP.

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

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

On February 2, 2018, the US stock market began a series of convulsions that culminated in a 10.28% decline in the S&P 500 Index just one week later. The cause? A reported 2.9% year-on-year wage growth in January 2018, the highest since June 2009. This news sparked fears of rapid rise in inflation and interest rates. Inflation fears only subsided when it was revealed that wage growth for the lower paid 80% of the workforce, those with production and non-managerial jobs, was only 2.4%. Thus, the bulk of the wage increases mostly benefited the supervisory classes, i.e. the higher paid-workers.

One reason for the market's hissy fit? Tight labor conditions, as indicated by February 2018's 4.1% unemployment rate, the lowest it's been in almost two decades.

That 4.1% unemployment rate is deceptive because both the civilian labor force participation rate (LFPR) and the civilian employment population ratio (EPR) have gone down substantially. Both indicators are nowhere near their pre-recession peak in 2007 and are even further away from their all-time highs during the peak of the tech bubble in 2000.

Some experts have blamed the declines in LFPR as structural, i.e. due to an aging work force. However, the LFPRs for people past the prime working age (55 years and over) has largely held up since the recession.

In fact, the LFPR for those truly at the retirement age (65 years and older) has only gone up.

This indicates that there is a lot of slack in the market for labor. A lot of slack.

If the 2017 LFPR had reached their pre-recession peak of 65.7%, the US would have roughly 8 million more workers in the labor force than it has now.

If the 2017 EPR had reached their pre-recession peak of 59.40%, the US would have roughly 7.3 million more people employed than it has now.

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. The 1.80% gap in EPRs will be covered in a much shorter time frame: only 4.5 years, because the annual gain in EPR is a more robust 0.40%.

Therefore the US is nowhere near wage inflation.

US Jobs Recovery is Not Running Fast Enough to Stay in Place

Today, the US Labor Department reported that the US economy added around 156,000 jobs in September 2016.  Year to date, the US economy has added around 2.03 million jobs in the nine months since 2015. In the same time, the working-age population (Civilian Non-Institutional Population in BLS parlance) has increased by 2.16 million, leaving 81 thousand out of the labor force.

This pattern has been true for much of the jobs recovery since the Great Recession began in December 2007: the jobs recovery has not been fast enough to cope with the increase in the working-age population.

United States
Employment Situation
In Thousand Persons
											2007 to September 2016
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	September 2016	Variance	% Variance
Civilian Non Institutional Population	231,867	233,788	235,801	237,830	239,618	243,284	246,745	249,027	251,936	254,091	22,224	9.58%
Labor Force	153,124	154,287	154,142	153,889	153,617	154,975	155,047	156,129	157,833	159,907	6,783	4.43%
Employed	146,047	145,362	139,877	139,064	139,869	142,469	144,671	147,442	149,929	151,968	5,921	4.05%
Unemployed	7,078	8,924	14,265	14,825	13,747	12,506	10,376	8,688	7,904	7,939	861	12.16%
Not in Labor Force	78,743	79,501	81,659	83,941	86,001	88,310	91,698	92,898	94,103	94,184	15,441	19.61%

Throughout the whole recovery, the US Civilian Non-Institutional Population has grown by 22.22 million or 9.58% but employment has grown by only 5.92 million or 4.05%.  This has resulted in a disproportionate increase in the people who are not counted as part of the labor force.  "Not in Labor Force" has grown by 15.44 million or 19.61%.

Not in Labor Force has become an ever increasing part of the US working-age population.

As a result, the country's employment to population ratio and labor force participation rate have yet to recover to pre-recession levels.

The labor economy shows signs of improvement.  Part-time employment and long-term unemployment are down significantly.

Moreover, Temporary Help Services are beginning to taper off.

So, the US Jobs Recovery is just muddling through.

Charting the US Jobs Recovery - Washington State, DelMarVa + DC Edition - August 2014

Most media discussions on the US Jobs Recovery focus on just one number - the headline Unemployment Rate.  To add color to the first number, financial pundits like to add a second number - the Labor Force Participation Rate.  Both are intertwined and affect each other.  But in the aftermath of the Great Recession, there is a third, much more meaningful number that is almost never discussed - the Employment to Population Ratio.

Definitions

Now, what are these numbers?  Many people will give you a technical description that can be hard to grasp and make your eyes glaze over the minute you hear them.  But the reality is simple.

The Unemployment Rate is the percentage of:

PEOPLE WHO WANT  A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE (Unemployed)/
LABOR FORCE

The Labor Force is:

PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed)

The Labor Force Participation Rate is percentage of:

[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed)]/
WORKING AGE PEOPLE

Working Age People are generally defined as PEOPLE WHO ARE 16 YEARS AND OLDER.  In reality, they are:

[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed) + PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE (Not in Labor Force)]

The category PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE includes:


PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE MILITARY
PEOPLE WHO ARE INSTITUTIONALIZED
PEOPLE WHO ARE STUDENTS
PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMEMAKERS
PEOPLE WHO ARE RETIRED
PEOPLE WHO ARE MARGINALLY ATTACHED TO LABOR FORCE (INCLUDING DISCOURAGED WORKERS)


The Employment to Population Ratio is the percentage of:

PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS/
WORKING AGE PEOPLE

In other words, PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS/
[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE + PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE


How does this work out?

According to this chart from the popular financial blog, Calculated Risk, the US, in May 2014, gained back all the jobs lost since the Great Recession started in November 2007.

But this is deceptive.  For one, the working age population of the US grew by 16.362 million people or 7.06% from 2007 to August 2014, while the labor force grew by 2.835 million people or only 1.85% during the same period.   The number of employed persons grew by only 321,000 people and unemployed people grew by 2.513 million people or 35.50% during the same period. People Not in the Labor Force grew by 13.526 million or 17.18% during the same period. In fact, People Not in the Labor Force is at an absolute all time high of 92.269 million.

United States
Employment Situation
In Thousand Persons
									2007 to August 2014
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	August 2014	Variance	% Variance
Civilian Non Institutional Population	231,867	233,788	235,801	237,830	239,618	243,284	245,679	248,229	16,362	7.06%
Labor Force	153,124	154,287	154,142	153,889	153,617	154,975	155,389	155,959	2,835	1.85%
Employed	146,047	145,362	139,877	139,064	139,869	142,469	143,929	146,368	321	0.22%
Unemployed	7,078	8,924	14,265	14,825	13,747	12,506	11,460	9,591	2,513	35.50%
Not in Labor Force	78,743	79,501	81,659	83,941	86,001	88,310	90,290	92,269	13,526	17.18%

Source: bls.gov


For the United States, the headline Unemployment Rate has dropped down significantly, from a peak of 9.9% in 2009 to just 6.1% as of August 2014.  The Labor Force Participation Rate continues to drop and is now at 62.8% - levels not seen since the late 1970's when women started entering the workforce in droves.  The Employment to Population Ratio has only recovered marginally from its recessionary low of 58.3% to just 59% in August 2014.  It is nowhere near its pre-recession average.  In other words, job growth has been growing only barely faster than the growth in the working age population.

Economists have attributed to this phenomenon to increased retirements among the elderly.  But the Bureau of Labor and Statistics itself  is projecting large increases in the Labor Force Participation Rate among people aged 65 and older. The reality is fewer people can afford to retire.

Washington State


Although Washington State's Unemployment Rate has dropped considerably from a peak of 9.9% in 2010 to just 5.6% as of July 2014, its Labor Force Participation rate has continued to drop to a new low of 63.1% - a level not seen since 1977 when women entered the labor force in considerable numbers.  The Employment to Population Ratio now stands at 59.5% or just 0.4% above its recessionary low as of 2013.

Regional Comparison

So how does the DELMARVA + DC Region stack up to the rest of the United States?

Delaware

The state of Delaware is in a funk, employment-wise.  Its Labor Force Participation Rate, at 61.2% as of July 2014, is even lower than the 62.7% Labor Force Participation Rate the state registered in 1976, the earliest available BLS.Gov data.  Although its Unemployment Rate has dropped from a peak of 8.0% in 2010, to just 6.2% as of July 2014, its Employment to Population Ratio, at 57.4% as of July 2014, is still hovering near the bottom at 56.7% in 2013.

Maryland

Like Delaware, Maryland's Labor Force Participation Rate continues to trend lower, hitting 66.4% as of July 2014 - levels not seen since 1977.  Its Employment to Population Ratio has yet to bottom out. At 62.3% as of July 2014, it is reaching levels not seen since the early 1977.  Its Unemployment Rate, however, has dropped sharply, from a peak of 7.9% as of 2010 to just 6.1% as of July 2014.  As the previous data indicates, much of the drop has come from people dropping out of the labor force altogether.

Virginia

Virginia has seen an uptick in its labor force participation rate, from a post-recessionary bottom of 66.4% in 2013, to 66.7% as of July 2014.  Likewise, its Employment to Population Ratio has improved to 63.2% as of July 2014., slightly higher than its post-recessionary bottom of 62.6% in 2010. Unemployment Rate has dropped from its 2010 peak of 7.1% to just 5.4% as of July 2014.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia's Labor Force Participation bottomed out at 67.8% in 2011, bounced up to the 69.3% level for 2012 and 2013 and is down again to 68.1% as of July 2014.  Its Employment to Population Ratio bounded up sharply from a low of 60.9% as of 2011 to 63.5% as of 2013 and now stands at 63.1% as of July 2014.  Its Unemployment Rate, which reached a peak of 10.2% as of 2011, now stands at 7.4% as of July 2014.

Charting the US Jobs Recovery - DelMarva + DC Edition - May 2014

Most media discussions on the US Jobs Recovery focus on just one number - the headline Unemployment Rate.  To add color to the first number, financial pundits like to add a second number - the Labor Force Participation Rate.  Both are intertwined and affect each other.  But in the aftermath of the Great Recession, there is a third, much more meaningful number that is almost never discussed - the Employment to Population Ratio.

Definitions

Now, what are these numbers?  Many people will give you a technical description that can be hard to grasp and make your eyes glaze over the minute you hear them.  But the reality is simple.

The Unemployment Rate is the percentage of:

PEOPLE WHO WANT  A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE (Unemployed)/
LABOR FORCE

The Labor Force is:

PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed)

The Labor Force Participation Rate is percentage of:

[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed)]/
WORKING AGE PEOPLE

Working Age People are generally defined as PEOPLE WHO ARE 16 YEARS AND OLDER.  In reality, they are:

[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS (Employed) + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE (Unemployed) + PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE (Not in Labor Force)]

The category PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE includes:


PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE MILITARY
PEOPLE WHO ARE INSTITUTIONALIZED
PEOPLE WHO ARE STUDENTS
PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMEMAKERS
PEOPLE WHO ARE RETIRED
PEOPLE WHO ARE MARGINALLY ATTACHED TO LABOR FORCE (INCLUDING DISCOURAGED WORKERS)


The Employment to Population Ratio is the percentage of:

PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS/
WORKING AGE PEOPLE

In other words, PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS/
[PEOPLE WHO WANT AND HAVE JOBS + PEOPLE WHO WANT A JOB BUT DON'T HAVE ONE AND ARE LOOKING FOR ONE + PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE


How does this work out?

According to this chart from the popular financial blog, Calculated Risk, the US, in May 2014, gained back all the jobs lost since the Great Recession started in November 2007.

But this is deceptive.  For one, the working age population of the US grew by 15.795 million people or 6.81% from 2007 to May 2014, while the labor force grew by 2.489 million people or only 1.63% during the same period.   The number of employed persons actually shrank by 233,000 people and unemployed people grew by 2.721 million people or 38.44% during the same period. People Not in the Labor Force grew by 13.266 million or 16.85% during the same period.

United States
Employment Situation
In Thousand Persons
									2007 to May 2014
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	May 2014	Variance	% Variance
Civilian Non Institutional Population	231,867	233,788	235,801	237,830	239,618	243,284	245,679	247,662	15,795	6.81%
Labor Force	153,124	154,287	154,142	153,889	153,617	154,975	155,389	155,613	2,489	1.63%
Employed	146,047	145,362	139,877	139,064	139,869	142,469	143,929	145,814	-233	-0.16%
Unemployed	7,078	8,924	14,265	14,825	13,747	12,506	11,460	9,799	2,721	38.44%
Not in Labor Force	78,743	79,501	81,659	83,941	86,001	88,310	90,290	92,009	13,266	16.85%

Source: bls.gov

For the United States, the headline Unemployment Rate has dropped down significantly, from a peak of 9.9% in 2009 to just 6.3% as of May 2014.  The Labor Force Participation Rate continues to drop and is now at 62.8% - levels not seen since the late 1970's when women started entering the workforce in droves.  The Employment to Population Ratio has only recovered marginally from its recessionary low of 58.3% to just 58.9% in May 2014.  It is nowhere near its pre-recession average.  In other words, job growth has been growing only barely faster than the growth in the working age population.

Economists have attributed to this phenomenon to increased retirements among the elderly.  But the Bureau of Labor and Statistics itself  is projecting large increases in the Labor Force Participation Rate among people aged 65 and older. The reality is fewer people can afford to retire.

Regional Comparison

So how does the DELMARVA + DC Region stack up to the rest of the United States?

Delaware

The state of Delaware is in a funk, employment-wise.  Its Labor Force Participation Rate, at 60.8% as of May 2014, is even lower than the 62.7% Labor Force Participation Rate the state registered in 1976, the earliest available BLS.Gov data.  Although its Unemployment Rate has dropped from a peak of 8.0% in 2010, to just 5.9% as of May 2014, its Employment to Population Ratio, at 57.2% as of May 2014, is still hovering near the bottom at 56.7% in 2013.

Maryland

Like Delaware, Maryland's Labor Force Participation Rate continues to trend lower, hitting 66.7% as of May 2014 - levels not seen since the late 1970s.  Its Employment to Population Ratio has yet to bottom out. At 62.9% as of May 2014, it is reaching levels not seen since the early 1980s.  Its Unemployment Rate, however, has dropped sharply, from a peak of 7.9% as of 2010 to just 5.6% as of May 2014.  As the previous data indicates, much of the drop has come from people dropping out of the labor force altogether.

Virginia

Virginia has seen a sharp uptick in its labor force participation rate, from a post-recessionary bottom of 66.4% in 2013, to 67.4% as of May 2014.  Likewise, its Employment to Population Ratio has improved to 63.9% as of May 2014.  Unemployment Rate has dropped from its 2010 peak of 7.1% to just 5.1% as of May 2014.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia's Labor Force Participation bottomed out at 67.8% in 2011, bounced up to the 69.3% level for 2012 and 2013 and is down again to 68.2% as of May 2014.  Its Employment to Population Ratio bounded up sharply from a low of 60.9% as of 2011 to 63.5% as of 2013 and now stands at 63.0% as of May 2014.  Its Unemployment Rate, which reached a peak of 10.2% as of 2011, now stands at 7.5% as of May 2014.