The most encouraging aspect of the June report was the increase in the labor force. The substantial drop in the proportion of Americans actually working was a major negative effect of the Great Recession.

The June report marks an important step forward, bringing the employment-population ratio, a key indicator of labor market health, closer to the pre-Great Recession level.

At the same time, the increase in the labor force confirms suspicions that we have not reached full employment yet. It has been difficult to gauge whether many of those not seeking work would be willing to look again or to accept jobs.