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The unemployment rate is now lower than it was at any time during Ronald Reagan's presidency

By Matthew Yglesias

As of this month, the unemployment rate is now lower than it was at any point during Ronald Reagan's administration:

That said, the labor force participation rate has fallen since Reagan's day. That's mostly about population aging — there are a lot more retired people now than there used to be — and a little bit about more people being in college, but that doesn't fully explain it. The labor force participation rate of "prime-aged" men between the ages of 25 and 55 has been steadily declining for decades, and in the past 10 years the participation rate for prime-aged women has fallen slightly as well.

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