How did over half of American Adults get "Tapped Out?"

Cash was depleted and credit cards were max'd out for over 50% of households*
by a continuous, 16-year downturn in “Employment” and “Wages” as illustrated below.

Remarks on graph shown below that depicts an unprecedented 16 year decline in 2 key economic indicators:

•"Employment" decreased by 4.4% from 67.3% in 2000 to 62.9% in 2016.

•"Wages" decreased by 8.7% or $413 per mo. since 1999.

SO, WHY NOT SIMPLY WAIT FOR THESE DOWNTURNS TO IMPROVE DURING AN ECONOMIC UPTURN?

Because semi-permanent "structural” changes, not short term cycles, are the primary cause.* And “structural" changes are very slow to reverse, even during an upturn, as explained below:

•American workforce skills have not kept pace with higher skills demanded by new jobs. Plus, rapidly advancing technology keeps widening this "mismatch".

•Proof: At the end of 2015, 3.6 million jobs remained vacant while 7.9 million adults were actively seeking employment.

•The solution is to add workforce skills, which will require many years to get training programs rolling and perhaps a generation to train millions of high school students and unemployed adults.

•A “Global Economy” creates a natural pathway for higher skilled jobs created by American companies to be exported to foreign countries when American workforce skills fall short.

*Contact us for links to reference materials, including authoritative data and studies by the US Federal Reserve Board, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and US Census Bureau and US Chamber of Commerce.

"Employment" = Labor Force Participation Rate

"Wages" = Real Median Household Income (adjusted for inflation)

Wages line (above) shows data for years with consistent study methodology. After making "major changes" to the survey questions about wages and income in data year 2014, the Census Bureau cautioned against comparisons to prior years.