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April 4, 2011

National Unemployment Rate Falls As People Leave Labor Force 
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The U.S. official unemployment rate decreased slightly last month to 8.8
percent as the U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs. While the Obama
administration praised the new job numbers, many economists point out
that the recent drop in the unemployment rate is largely due to people
leaving the labor force. Over the past 18 months, the unemployment rate
has fallen from 10.1 percent to 8.8 percent. But during that same
period, the labor force participation ratio, which measures the share of
the U.S. population that has a job, has not changed.



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