Not Participating?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released December's unemployment figures which showed, after the "seasonal adjustment" that was larger than the actual number of new jobs (a convenient, mathematical wonder for you to ponder), that the nation's unemployment rate crept down to a post-2008 low of 6.7%.

Good news, right?

Media outlets have started to more consistently report on the number of workers that have left the work force. This is called the "labor force participation rate" and it has been dropping intensely, a fact that many want to attribute to Baby Boomers retiring earlier than anticipated (oh, if it were only true).

This chart from ZeroHedge is for all of you 25-year olds reading this from your mother's basement. The gray line represents workers 55 and older that have been added/subtracted from the workforce since 2007 while the red line represents workers 16-55 who have had, on average, a slightly different experience. 

We are in the middle of an enormous, generational transformation, one that threatens to stunt the progress of millions of young people, to all our detriment. I'm not saying there is an easy solution here, but let's not pretend it's not happening.