Proof of a Structural Change in the U.S. Workforce

``... the current age 25-54 cohort would require an increase of 4.7 million employed participants to match its ratio peak in 2007. To match its mid-2000 peak would require a 6.6 million increase... The charts above offer strong evidence that our economy is in the midst of a structural change. The three mainstream employment statistics -- unemployment, labor force participation and employment-to-population -- all document an ongoing economic weakness far deeper than the result of a business cycle downturn... [this] demolishes Fischer's view of our aging population as a demographic drag on labor supply... The percentage of elderly employment is at its historic high -- now double its low in the mid-1980s. ''