Americans for Whom No Jobs Exist

Writing for National Journal, Nancy Cook tackles the uncomfortably large number of Americans who have left the labor force in one way or another. Labor force participation has dropped to the lowest level it has held since 1979, when it was growing as large numbers of women joined the labor force.

The article's conclusion states a concern I've had for decades. Only when we reach full employment will we know:

If people have left the workforce because of the downturn in the economy, or if they’ve left forever because the economy fundamentally changed. If that’s the case, the U.S. officially will become a place where the labor market has little use for millions of Americans.

The low-level jobs we've exported to China and India previously employed low-ability Americans. The jobs are gone but the low-ability Americans are still here.