Originally Posted by aka123

The job participation is not calculated from the whole population, so old folks don't count if they are over 64. Neither do count under 15 years olds. Wives between 15-64 do count, or "home daddys", or whatever. They may not want a job to start with; great, as there is no jobs for them. So, put it however you want it.


EDIT: Oops, that labor force participation rate is some special US number. Not employment rate used usually. No wonder it showed better numbers than employment rate.

You should use this.

"The employment-population ratio is many American economists' favorite gauge of the American jobs picture[citation needed]. According to Paul Ashworth, chief North American economist for Capital Economics, "The employment population ratio is the best measure of labor market conditions."[1] This is a statistical ratio that measures the proportion of the country's working-age population (ages 15 to 64 in most OECD countries) that is employed."

Employment-to-population ratio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia