Following news the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's forecast of GDP growth dropped to zero April 1, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the number of Americans 16 years and older who did not participate in the labor force rose from 92,898,000 in February to a record high of 93,175,000 in March.
It was first time the number of Americans out of the labor force has exceeded 93 million.
Record highs also were record in the number of blacks and women not participating in the work force.
And, overall, a 37-year low was matched with the labor force participation rate dropping from 62.8 percent to 62.7 percent from February to March.
The Associated Press reported the economy's slump finally overtook the job market, with employers adding just 126,000 workers, the fewest since December 2013.
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Economists are puzzled, the AP reported, wondering if the tepid job gain is a temporary blip due mainly to a harsh winter and an economy adjusting to much lower oil prices or a return to the mediocre performance marking the six years since the Great Recession.
A true gauge of the direction of the job market won't come until the monthly employment reports later this spring.
The zero growth reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta was derived from its unique model called GDPNow, which typically estimates growth well below the rate projected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The GDPNow model aggregates the same 13 subcomponents used by BEA, but when a data point is not available, the model uses “bridge equations” to fill the gap.
The BLS employment statistics are based on the civilian noninstitutional population, which is all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home.
Record number of blacks, women not in labor force
The Friday report said that of the 156,906,000 who participated in the labor force, 148,331,000 had a job and 8,575,000 did not have a job but actively sought one, for an employment rate of 5.5 percent.
Meanwhile, a record 12.2 million black people were not in the labor force in March, for a participation rate of 61 percent, according to the BLS.
The unemployment rate for black people in March was 10.1 percent, which is nearly double the overall national unemployment rate.
For black teens, age 16 to 19 years old, the unemployment rate was 25 percent.
The participation rate for the black teens also declined 3.4 percentage points from 29.1 percent in February to 25.7 percent in March.
In addition, the BLS reported 56,131,000 women were not in the labor force last month, an increase of more than 100,000 from February.
The level is a record high, and the labor force participation for the month of March at 56.6 percent is a 27-year low, according to CNS News. In February that rate for women was 56.7 percent.
People not in the labor force are defined as those 16 years and older who are not employed and have not “made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week.”
Many companies appear to be taking a cautious approach, the AP reported.
"Employers aren't laying people off," said Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting and consulting firm CohnReznick. "What they've decided to do is slow down the pace at which they're hiring until they have more confidence."