Labor-force participation hit a 50-year low. The same number told two completely opposite stories (cnbc.com)
The figure everyone quoted: prime-age participation, workers 25–54, fell 0.6 points to 83.3%, lowest since December 2023. One reader used that official number to demolish the 'all fine, just retirements' take — that cohort is nowhere near retiring.
The insiders made it concrete. A tech executive said the 'early retirement' his ex-colleagues took was involuntary age discrimination. Another described the mechanism breaking hiring: HR drowning in thousands of AI-slop applications a week, until word of mouth is the only channel left.
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