Job Growth Slows, More Americans Give Up

America in the age of Obama.

Though the headline number indicated job creation, the total employment level for the month actually fell 169,000. The disparity likely emanates from a drop in the labor force participation rate — or the level of Americans actively looking for jobs or otherwise employed — from 63.8 percent to 63.6 percent, its lowest level since December 1981.

The level of discouraged workers swelled from 865,000 to 968,000, an increase of 12 percent.