94,044,000 Americans Not in the Labor Force

The number of Americans not in the workforce during the month of April increased substantially compared to the previous month — again tipping over the 94 million mark — according to the latest Labor Department data.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Friday that 94,044,000 Americans were neither employed nor made an effort to find employment — due to discouragement, retirement, schooling or otherwise — in April.

Last month’s numbers represented an increase of 562,000 over the month of March, when 93,482,000 Americans were out of the workforce.

April’s comparatively high non-participation level halted an earlier trend of decline that followed after the number of people out of the workforce hit a record high of 94,610,000 last October.

The labor force participation rate also took a slight hit, declining from 63.0 percent in March to 62.8 percent in April. Though lower than the month prior, April’s participation rate was slightly higher than it was a year ago.

Additionally the civilian labor force declined by 362,000 people compared to March, hitting 158,924,000.

In total 151,320,000 Americans had a job last month and another 7,920,000 Americans were unemployed.

Overall the economy added 160,000 confirm payroll jobs in April and the unemployment rate remained at 5.0 percent.