Since the current recession started in December 2007, the labor force -- people who are either working or seeking work -- has declined by 700,000 workers, even though the working-age population has increased by 3.7 million.
In an article recently published by the Economic Policy Institute, labor force participation rate for workers age 16-24 has decreased from 59.1% to 54.7% in the 25 months since the recession started, representing a loss of 1.3 million young workers, while the labor force participation rate of workers age 55 and older increased from 38.9% to 39.9%, representing an increase of 2.3 million workers. Many older workers are not retiring or are re-entering the labor force because they have suffered a sharp decline in economic security due to the collapse of the housing bubble and the plunge in stock prices. At the same time, workers age 16 to 24 -- who face an unemployment rate of 18.9%, compared to 6.8% for workers age 55 and older -- are having a difficult time securing employment and are leaving the labor force in large numbers.
This situation that is affecting the younger members of today's workforce, needs to be addressed by the business community, but from what I can see at my level, is not, on any significant scale. It's not just about the deferrment of opportunity for younger workers until the old timers leave the picture, but the attitudes that are being formed, out of discouragement with the system.
MY question to you, dear readers, is what examples of this are you seeing in the industry, and perhaps more importantly, what steps do you see being taken in the business marketplace to deal with it?
