Misinformation -- Are 90 million Americans not working or not looking for work?

No

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Perry Misleads on Jobs
Posted on May 7, 2014

Texas Gov. Rick Perry used grossly misleading statistics to criticize the unemployment picture under President Obama. Perry said there are “90 million people that are out of work” and “more women out of the workforce now than at any time in our history.” The 90-million figure includes teenagers, retired seniors and only 6 million people who want a job. The women’s labor force participation rate is more than one-and-half times what it was in 1948 — not surprisingly.

Those weren’t the only claims about employment that Perry made in a May 4 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He also boasted of 95 percent of Texas workers earning above the minimum wage. The state has improved in this regard. In 2010, it was tied for first with Mississippi for the percentage of hourly workers earning at or below the minimum wage. In 2013, Texas had moved down to fifth among the states.

so much more with sources here:
http://www.factcheck.org/2014/05/perry-misleads-on-jobs/

Perry was not the only one selling this misinformation:

WND EXCLUSIVE
Record 90 million Americans not in labor force
Rise of 10 million since Obama took office
Published: 09/06/2013 at 7:32 PM

read here:
http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/record-90-million-americans-not-in-labor-force/

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Ninety million Americans either aren’t working or aren’t looking for work.
Bloggers on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 in various Internet postings

Are 90 million Americans not working or not looking for work?

A reader recently asked us to check a claim that’s been widely repeated on conservative websites -- that 90 million Americans either aren’t working or aren’t looking for work. Over the past few months, the statistic has been cited by various conservative bloggers, pundits and news outlets.

We thought we’d take a closer look.

Here’s how the calculation is made, using Census Bureau population estimates and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The total U.S. population age 16 and over is at least 243 million. Subtracting the nearly 156 million Americans in the labor force in June 2013 -- that is, those who were either working or looking for work -- leaves 87 million Americans, which is close to 90 million.

However, the 90 million number is padded, since this number includes a lot of Americans who wouldn’t be expected to be working. Specifically:

• People age 16 to 17, who likely are in high school: 9 million

• People who are enrolled in either two- or four-year colleges: 21 million

• People age 65 and older, who have reached retirement age: 40 million people

That means 20 million people are of normal working age, not in college and not working. That’s less than one-quarter the amount repeatedly cited in the blogosphere.

So the 90 million number is exaggerated. Even so, the idea that fewer people are joining the workforce is something that worries economists.

more here:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jul/30/blog-posting/are-90-million-americans-not-working-or-looking-wo/

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5/02/2014 @ 8:41AM
Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Added 288K Jobs In April, Unemployment Down To 6.3%

Jobs numbers released by The Bureau of Labor Statistics were well ahead of expectations but failed to significantly move the markets Friday morning.

Employers added 288,000 jobs in April, significantly more than the 218,000 economists were expecting. The unemployment rate, which is drawn from a different survey of households, declined from 6.7% to 6.3%, also a stronger than anticipated number and the lowest rate since before the financial crisis. The labor force participation rate, however, came in at 62.8% its lowest point in decades, down from 63.2% in March. The employment-population ratio was steady at 58.9%.

The March employment number was revised up from plus 192,000 to plus 203,000 jobs. February payroll was also revised from plus 197,000 to plus 222,000. Total employment gains those months were therefore 36,000 greater than BLS  — a division of the Department of Labor –previously reported. Job growth averaged 190,000 in the prior 12 months.

Following the news the S&P 500 and The Dow Jones Industrial Average were in the green but not by much as investors digested killer headline numbers but conflicting details.

In a call following the release Dan North, chief economist at Euler Hermes North America which provides export and trade credit insurance, said looking at the payroll number, “I guess you would say this is getting toward a blockbuster report here,” noting that the beat and revisions were significant.

“The part that is a little less positive is this apparently wonderful story on the unemployment rate,” added North. “If you look at the changes in the labor force there are 700,000 more unemployed, in other words the labor force shrunk because more people left.” This is why the unemployment rate should be taken with a grain of salt, he says, and why the Fed has shifted away from quantitative interest rate guidance to qualitative.

more here:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2014/05/02/jobs-report-u-s-economy-added-288k-jobs-in-april-unemployment-down-to-6-3/

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Turns out there is a real difference between not in the labor force and being unemployed.

The numbers, if you'd like to examine them for yourself:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf