The official unemployment rate, 4.9 percent for the first quarter of 2017, is a vast improvement over the high percentages following the recession beginning in 2007. Nevertheless, the official figure minimizes the true picture of unemployment, especially for those of limited education. One way is not counting people of working age who haven’t recently looked for a job. If they are factored in, the labor force participation of all natives of working age without a college degree has declined since the recession began, from 73.8 percent in the first quarter of 2007 to 69.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. In 2000 the total was 76.1 percent. Immigration is one reason for this trend.
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