 The unemployment report was issued today, and the headline number of unemployment rate fell from 7% to 6.7%. That sounds good on the surface. Unfortunately, the main reason for this decline in the unemployment rate was people leaving the workforce. The employment survey found 143,000 new jobs. The establishment survey found only 74,000 new jobs, and most of those were in the retail sector, low-paying jobs. The average hourly workweek fell three-tenths of one hour, and economist Dean Baker called that ominous for job prospects moving forward. The labor participation rate fell two-tenths of 1% in the month of December to the lowest rate in over 35 years. Before the economic crisis, about 66% of Americans or more were participating in the labor force. Now, it's down to almost 62%. Now, some of those people are retired, but the vast bulk of that decline in participation in the workforce is a result of people not having jobs, not being able to find jobs, and being reclassified as long-term, unemployed, and basically being taken out of the workforce. The decline in labor participation has adversely affected, in particular, minorities, middle-aged people, and people working part-time jobs. Wage growth in the American economy in the latest report indicate that over the last year, that wages increased by less than 2%, or less than the reported rate of inflation by the government. And of course, we know that the actual rate of price increases in the economy is much greater than that. So jobs are fewer. The ability to get a new job is declining, and wages are not keeping up with inflation. In other words, the policies of the federal government are not working, and they're actually hampering the labor force, and they're hampering employment and the entrepreneur, and they're making it more difficult for Americans in general. So if anything, this report indicates that the people running the government should be fired themselves. And we should adopt policies that are inspired by Austrian economics, which means lower taxes, lower regulations, fewer requirements to enter jobs, making it easier for people to get employed, and making it easier for entrepreneurs to hire people. And that's the Mises' view.