Discouraged Job Seekers

About 4.7 million Americans want jobs but are not looking for work, up from 4.6 million in January of 2003, according to the Department of Labor. There are a variety of reasons they may be unable to look for work. They may be unable to job hunt because they don't have a car or can't find child care.

But some aren't looking because they believe there are no jobs out there: More than 400,000 workers are so discouraged by the job market that they've given up looking for work. More and more workers are jumping out of the game. The January labor force participation rate was 66.1%, up slightly from a 12-year low in December when 66% of working age people were working or seeking work.

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