CYNICAL: Unemployment Rate drops because more people without work are not counted

From Markets Pulse at the WSJ.com:

So another 522,000 people are counted as out of the work force last month. And unemployment falls a tick to 8.1%.

Remind us again how that’s good news?  There are 2.7 million more people out of the work force the past year, versus a mere 945,000 going into it. As such, the participation rate hits another cycle low of 63.6%. No worries, somehow today’s news–including the lower-than-expected job growth–will be spun positively....


The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% in April but a broader measure was unchanged at 14.5% and a separate survey noted that the economy added a paltry 115,000. Why the drop?

This month, the decline in the jobless rate wasn’t a positive sign, as it primarily came from people dropping out of the labor force....

Even though the broader rate dropped, there were more discouraged workers in April and the number of part-time employees who want full-time work also increased.

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Link: http://stream.wsj.com/story/markets/SS-2-5/