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Mike Horrigan

@mikehorrigan.bsky.social

President of the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, incoming Vice President of the National Association for Business Economics, and former Associate Commissioner at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment/Unemployment/Prices)

Posts Replies Media

Mike Horrigan @mikehorrigan.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The number of individuals who are out of the labor force but reported currently wanting a job now and cited childcare, family responsibilities, or transportation issues as being barriers to looking for work or working rose to 1 million in the summer of 2020, staying around that level ever since.

This chart from the Current Population Survey shows a times series of the number of individuals who are currently out of the labor force, want a job now, but cite childcare, family responsibilities, or transportation issues as barriers to working or looking for work. The number of such individuals rose to 1 million in the pandemic summer of 2020 and has stayed at that level since, the latest number being 1.233 million in June 2026

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Mike Horrigan @mikehorrigan.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Trust in the data produced by statistical agencies is fundamental to the functioning of a democratic society. Unfounded attacks on those institutions, rather than constructive dialog to identify problems and suggest solutions, causes incredible damage.

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Mike Horrigan @mikehorrigan.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

This is very concerning. There are a number of possible reasons, loss of personnel due to the fork in the road, layoffs of those with fewer than 2 years of experience, and current and possible expected budget cuts. Not much is known yet about the impact of the proposed 2026 budget.

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Mike Horrigan @mikehorrigan.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

The negative growth in real GDP for the first quarter of 2025 does not mean we are in a recession. Check out the video below to learn how recessions are called and by who.

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