Unemployment Problems Persist
Perhaps the reason so few are saving is because the job situation isn’t exactly rosy, nor are income levels. According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistic, the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.7% which looks on the surface to be good news. However, if you look a bit deeper, the source of that improvement is troubling. The labor force participation rate, meaning the proportion of the population either employed or looking for employment has continued to drop, see chart at right, and is now at mid-1970s levels. Without the drop in the participation rate, the unemployment rate would be around 13%, rather than just under 7%. Additionally, according to data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve (see chart at right), the American economy is experiencing the worst performance for labor markets since the Great Depression.
Some argue that the decline in the labor force participation rate is primarily driven by the inevitable retirement waves of the baby boomers. However, the chart below illustrates that baby boomers are in fact participating in the work force at a higher rate than in decades.
Along with the grim jobs recovery, household income levels continue to struggle, with income levels close to those 20 years ago, see chart above. Bottom Line: The fiscal and monetary stimulus has been unable to get employment or income levels back to anywhere near the levels enjoyed during the start of the 21st century. So far the impact appears to be more visible in rising prices in the stock markets and more recently rising home prices.