Near Times Square in New York City in 2013 (Zoran Milich/Reuters )

Too many Americans are migrating out of the job market

On its face, the unemployment rate of 3.7 percent in June of this year would seem like great news for American workers. But the official rate includes only those who say they have actively looked for a job in the last four weeks. By contrast, the labor-force-participation rate — which measures all those working or looking for work — has been declining for at least three decades, especially among the less educated. This long-term decline in work has contributed to a host of social problems, from the opioid epidemic to crime to the breakdown of the family. By allowing in …

This article appears as “Migrating Out of the Job Market ” in the August 12, 2019, print edition of National Review.