What continues to baffle economists now, however, is just how many of these jobs have come back since the economy started to recover in fits and starts in 2009; how many workers have left the job market voluntarily – to retire, start a business, take care of children or elderly parents; and how many have simply given up looking because the job market remains anemic.
While there's scant argument that the economy is improving, albeit slowly, the precise reasons why so many formerly employed individuals are no longer counted in the official unemployment rate are much less conclusive.