Despite the drop in the unemployment rate from around 10% in 2010 to just over 7% today, SNAP enrollment remains high because the job market remains weak. The unemployment rate is a poor measure of the health of today’s labor market. It does not include the large number of people who want a job but, with jobs so hard to find, haven’t looked enough recently to count as officially unemployed. The labor-force participation rate— the share of people aged 16 and over who are either working or officially unemployed is now at levels not seen since 1978. And, history shows that declines in SNAP enrollment typically lag behind declines in the unemployment rate after recessions, in part because jobless people who can only find jobs with low wages and limited hours will often remain eligible for SNAP.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 9/12/13, Employment
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