U.S. labor force participation slides to 50-year low outside Covid era amid June jobs data

June’s unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as the labor force shrank by 720,000, pushing the participation rate to 61.5% — the lowest since March 2021 and, excluding Covid-era data, since 1976. Payrolls rose 57,000, but the household survey showed 507,000 fewer employed and 832,000 more not in the labor force, signaling a substantial exodus from participation. Analysts warn the data could be noisy, but the sharp drop in prime-age participation hints at underlying weakness rather than a straightforward recovery.