The Job Gap in US – How many more jobs are needed ?

One of the big questions concerning the U.S. jobs market is how many jobs need to be created to reach full employment? Without knowing that, it’s hard to determine when the nation’s economy will have finally recovered.

Figuring out that number is complicated by several uncertainties, including just how many people need jobs and how many currently unfilled jobs actually exist.

The March jobs report released last week said 192,000 people found jobs last month, which means more people are now working in the private sector than were doing so at the pre-recession peak. During the Great Recession, the private sector lost 8.8 million jobs. Last month’s job total means it has now added 8.9 million.

While this is good news, the U.S. still needs more new jobs because the working-age population has grown by nearly 15 million since January 2008.

However, the number of people participating in the work force has dropped in the past six years, for two main reasons. The first is demographics: The baby boomers are hitting lower-participation age (over 55), and more people between the ages of 16 and 24 are staying in school.

The second reason is the recession’s impact on workers: Many people have dropped out of the work force altogether.

Economists are divided about how much of the decline either of these factors is responsible for.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at So, how many more jobs does the U.S. need? – CBS News.

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