My climbing buddy successfully summited Everest earlier this year...& a big part of his success was not staying in the "death zone" too long where oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life. The economy has a similar "recession zone"...we are there, but we will not be for long.

Simply put, since the full inclusion of women into the labor force (around '90) full employment for the 25-54yr/old population has been 80% to 81%. That level of employment has been unsustainable & initiated the end of growth, beginning of recession. There was an ace in the hole.

That ace in the hole was the population growth coupled with rise in employment participation of the 55+yr/old population. Below, you see the change in employees of 25-54 v 55+ since '48. Since '00...nearly all 55+yr/olds.

How we got here...by total 25 to 54year old employees vs. 55+ year-old employees. But, 55 to 64 year-old growth has turned to decline...the primary engine of US jobs growth since 1990 has gone out. We now have to learn to live w/out further growth.

Of course, doesn't make much sense unless you see the 25 to 54 year-old vs. 55+ year-old populations. While population growth will continue among the 55+yr/olds, it will be among the 65+yr/olds (non-workers) amid declining 55 to 64yr/olds (workers). Game changer.