MW:U.S. labor-force participation rate falls sharply in April
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. labor-force participation rate sank to 62.8% in April from 63.2% in March to match a 35-year low, the government reported Friday. Some 806,000 people dropped out of the labor force, according to Labor Department figures. Yet a government official said the drop in the jobless rate - to a six-year low of 6.3% from 6.7% - did not stem from a decline in the labor force, but from fewer people saying they were unemployed. He said the April report showed unusual softness in the number of people reentering the labor force, but not because they wanted jobs.
