Although the unemployment rate is strong these days, other labor-related statistics are being called weak for this stage of an economic recovery. The downward trend in labor force participation, wage growth, job reallocation and other stats started a long time ago, however.
Because of its unusually high percentage of older people, Japan is heavily analyzed by other developed economies for studying the impact of aging on a macroeconomy. Does a large older population affect such things as output, inflation and labor force participation?
Workforce participation has declined among those 16 to 24, but there may be good reasons for this. An analysis by age, gender and education looks at who is in school and who is not.
The unemployment rate has been declining significantly since the Great Recession ended; however, the ranks of those involuntarily working part time have been declining at a slower pace. How does this situation compare with what happened after previous recessions?
The labor force participation rate has fallen from over 67 percent in 2000 to almost 63 percent today. Among the reasons are the downward trends in the percentages of women and young people in the labor force.
