Although the unemployment rate in Colorado has dropped from 9.1 percent in 2010 to 6.2 percent in December 2013, this statistic does not necessarily signify an improvement in labor. Since the recession of 2009, about 250,000 people have dropped out of Colorado's labor force. A number of factors contribute to this drop in the labor force, including giving up on looking for a job due to frustration and students going to college, but the largest proponent is the number of people going into retirement; this accounts for about half of the drop in labor participation. Many of Colorado's older residents are baby boomers who are now beginning to retire, which hits the labor force hard. In addition to the baby boomers situation, adults are also retiring at a much earlier age now than before the recession. And as for those who are still looking for jobs, the opportunities for potential jobs are decreasing significantly the longer people are out of work, so people who are officially unemployed are running out of options.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25147885/long-term-unemployment-leading-fewer-labor-force-colorado
It's always good to see such a significant drop in the unemployment rate, especially for a state like Colorado. Having taken the 250,000 people dropping out of the labor force since the recession into account, another thing to think about is, "How many people have joined the labor force since the 2009 recession?" Sure. all fifty states are going to have extended periods of time in which many people drop out of the labor force, but as I said before, I think it's always optimistic to look at the number of people joining the work force and other related upward trends.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we can be optimistic and look at the numbers of people joining the labor force, but if we only look at that, we won't get a full picture of the economy. Baby boomers are retiring all over the country now. This does create another problem with many of them taking funds from Social Security now, but that is a different story. We do have some people to replace the baby boomers, but not as many may be qualified for the jobs that need filled nowadays. More and more people are gaining higher education, however, so as the economy changes, our workforce may be better prepared when it comes down to it. The biggest thing with the baby boomers retiring is the fact that they make up a large amount of the US's population, meaning that the number entering the workforce will not cover the number leaving. This may end up showing a drop in the unemployment rate that would be misleading as to how many people are actually unemployed.
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