Good news on the US job front

Washington

SURPRISE: America's discouraged workers are finding jobs - or so it seems. Unanticipated by many economists, this is good news for the country (and, assuming it continues, probably for Democrats this fall).

Ever since the Great Recession, economists have been worried that the severity and length of the slump would forever consign many workers to the sidelines. Their prolonged disconnect from jobs would corrode their morale, contacts and job skills.

For years, the numbers seemed to confirm these fears. The labour force participation rate - the share of Americans 16 and over with a job or looking for one - steadily declined. From January 2008 to September 2015, it dropped from 66.2 per cent to 62.4 per cent. Although this change may seem small, it represen…