The unemployment rate dropped in June, but it was because fewer people are looking for jobs. The figure fell to 4.2%, the lowest in a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but it was explained by the labor force participation rate dropping to the lowest level in 50 years without taking the Covid era into account. Concretely, the figure stood at 61.5%. That compares to more than 67% at its peak in the year 2000.
Mike Reid, head of U.S. economics at RBC, told CNBC that the decline amounts to a "massive exodus" driven by different factors. "This may well be a story of retirements but could also be a story of prior job seekers dropping out of the labor force," he said.
