Last night, the president said there are 94 million people "out of the labor force" needing a job. No.
The number of people wanting a job is about 14 million people.
Let us do the math:
- US Population = 330 million
- Population age 16 and older = 254 million (non-institutionalized)
- Adult population in the labor force = 160 million (7.6 million unemployed)
- Adult population not in the labor force = 94 million (254-160=94)
- Adult population wanting a job but not looking = 6 million (aprox.)
- Adult population not wanting and not looking for a job = 88 million
- Adult population wanting a job, looking or not = 14 million (aprox.)
Who are the 88 million adults not wanting and not looking for a job? Some examples:
- High school students ages 16-18
- College students
- Stay at home parents
- Adult caregivers
- Retired people
- Disabled people
The president said 1 in 5 working prime working age adults (25-54) are not working. Well, yes. This includes:
- Stay at home parents
- Adult caregivers
- Disabled persons
- People who retired early
- Older adults who have gone back to school
The unemployment rate for this age segment is 4.1%, which means 1 in 25 people who want a job and are actively looking for a one are “not working.”
The number of people without a job and wanting one, whether they are looking or not, is about 14 million people. Trump overstates the problem by nearly seven-fold. (94/14=6.7) He has been called on this repeatedly, yet he continues to repeat a faulty number that would flunk a high school economics student. One of two things is true. A) He is incredibly ignorant of the most basic of economic concepts and is unwilling to listen to correction, or B) he is being willfully and cynically deceitful. (Some of his mistakes can likely be attributed to off-the-cuff remarks that, while inaccurate and unwise, may just be mistakes. This issue has been raised multiple times.) Neither bodes well for becoming a swap-draining renewal president.
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