For the second month in a row, the number of people not in the workforce hit another record high in April, according to jobs data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
April saw the number of people dropping out of the labor force increase from March’s record 93,175,000 to a new record: 93,194,000 people not in the workforce.
The BLS defines people not in the labor force as those ages 16 and older who are neither employed nor have they “made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week.”
The labor force participation rate came in at 62.8 percent.
The month of April is the second month where the number of people not in the workforce— whether due to discouraged workers or retiring baby boomers — was greater than 93 million.
The overall unemployment data from the BLS saw payroll employment rise in April by 223,000 and the official jobless rate remain at 5.4 percent.
House Speaker John Boehner said the new figures prove that improvements to the economy are still necessary.
“While the economy continues to show some signs of improvement, too many middle-class families are struggling just to get by,” he said. “Too many Americans remain out of work, and too many are working harder only to lose ground to stagnant wages and rising costs. We can do better.”