According to the United States Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in September 2019 was 3.5%, a number not seen since December 1969. At the same time, labor participation remained steady and most job growth tended to be full-time positions. The number of people who ended up with part-time positions despite looking for full-time jobs dropped to 4.32 million, below the average of the previous three decades. Economists generally consider a population with an unemployment rate lower than 4% to be fully employed. In fact, even people with disabilities or prison records are getting hired.