In discussing the labor market during the recovery from the 2007-2009 recession, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted that "the employment-to-population ratio has increased far less over the past several years than the unemployment rate alone would indicate, based on past experience."
a. During an economic expansion, why would we normally expect the employment-population ratio to increase as the unemployment rate falls?
b. Why didn't the employment-population ratio increase as much as might have been expected during the recovery from the 2007-2009 recession?