That lowered the participation rate, or share of working-age people in the labor force, to 62.7 percent from 62.9 percent the prior month. The employment-population ratio, another broad measure of labor-market health that central bankers like to watch, fell to 60.3 percent from 60.5 percent.
Another measure showed diminishing labor-market slack. The U-6, or underemployment rate, fell to 7.4 percent, the lowest since 2001, from 7.5 percent. That gauge includes part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want a job but aren’t actively looking.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.