Discouraged Worker Law and Legal Definition
Discouraged worker is a person not in the labor force who is available for a job but is not actively seeking employment on the belief that there are no jobs available or there is no job which s/he would qualify. The worker believes so because s/he has already searched for work in the past or since the end of their last job and has failed in securing a job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not reckon discouraged workers as unemployed but rather refers to them as only "marginally attached to the labor force".
The main reasons for discouragement, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are:
• The worker thinks no work is available.
• The worker could not find work.
• The worker lacks schooling or training.
• The worker is viewed as too young or too old by the prospective employer.
• The worker is the target of various types of discrimination.
