U.S. workforce dropouts a puzzling problem

While unemployment numbers continue to drop, there is a statistic outside the official figures creating concern — people who have stopped looking for work.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official unemployment rate is currently 4.6 percent. That’s the lowest since August 2007, just before the start of the Great Recession.

Not included in this, however, is the estimated 7 million men ages 25 to 54 who have dropped out of the workforce. They don’t have a job, and aren’t looking for one.

It’s a disturbing trend because these men are in the prime of their earning capabilities...