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Comment by vpfaulkner | Hacker News Reader

The labor force participation rate ("percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work") has been declining for 20 years and had a big drop at the beginning of the pandemic. Consequently, part of the low unemployment trend has been driven by people dropping out of the workforce/not looking for a job.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART

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Many people think of the labor participation rate is just the % of working among the adults working age population who could be employed if good jobs were available to them.

In reality, the divisor includes college students, the highly disabled, happy housewives/househusbands, trust fund brats and, most importantly, the elderly/retired. Essentially everyone age 16 and over. Not 19, not 21, 16. I.e. it includes juniors and seniors in HS and college students.

The demographic shifts in the US means the labor force participation rate will, by necessity, decline.

And some states allow kids to start working as young as 14, so you can have part time jobs that just entirely disappear if the kid gets laid off / fired / quits, because they don't appear in the employable column.

Are there any statistics on how many people actually are the beneficiaries of a trust fund of any sizable amount, and what percentage of those people are actually legitimate brats?

I have relatives that haven't worked in years. They don't have a trust fund. Instead, they get put on the payroll of a highly profitable family business with a "fake" (but well paying) job. I doubt you will find anyone who will admit to these arrangements openly.

That measure will reflect changing demographics and, specific to our current circumstances, an increase in retirements during covid. Prime age participation is more useful for projecting forward https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060

The LFPR for people under 50 is significantly higher than it was prior to the pandemic.

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