Will jobs be the focus of next year’s presidential election? U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina, says economic recovery isn't as it seems, at least when it comes to labor participation. Graham claimed:

    "The labor participation rate is at an all-time low."

PolitiFact rated the claim for its truthfulness. Writer Joshua Gillin said it rates MOSTLY FALSE. According to Gillin, it’s not all in the numbers.

“Now, the phenomenon that we’re seeing, the reason that the participation rate is declining is because so many people are retiring,” Gillin said.

As of February, the labor participation rate is 62.8 percent. That is the lowest it’s been since 1978. And since President Barack Obama took office, the rate has dropped 2.9 percentage points.

The problem is the workforce looks different than it did back in 1948, which is where available data goes back to.

According to experts, there are more women looking for jobs in the workforce and baby boomers are starting to retire, which doesn’t make it an apples to apples comparison. Because of those facts, PolitiFact rated the claim MOSTLY FALSE.

SOURCES: LABOR PARTICIPATION RATE