USA Today Is Wrong- 58.5% of Americans Have Jobs, not 45.4% as Reported

The USA Today has released some numbers that I have some real issues with. Via memeorandum I read the story More Americans leaving the workforce which claims that:

Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record.

According to the graphs provided with the story, it appears that in 2008 something changed in our nation and the number of people working dropped suddenly and steadily and is still dropping today. These sharp reductions in the number working occurred for men and women, and are occurring when costs are rising for those in retirement and large numbers of Baby Boomers approach retirement.

But I have some issues with this data. According to my own analysis of the information provided  by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing the employment-population ratio from 1988 to 2011 (seasonally adjusted), the number of people employed in our nation is holding steady at a new-normal post-Obama post-recovery number of 58.5%.

To repeat, I don't know where the USA Today got their numbers from, but the BLS clearly shows that 58.5% of the population of our nation has a job, not 45.4%, although I will admit that the jobs that Americans work at today they work fewer hours at, make less money at, and have larger portions of their pay eaten away in inflation.

Here is my previous analysis of the numbers with a political slant, which the numbers continue to support:

...Using the employment-population ratio, you can see a decrease in the percentage of people employed in this nation from the nomination of Obama in June to his election win in November of 1%- 62.4% to 61.4%. From Obama's election win in November to his taking office in January another 0.9% (61.4-60.5). From Obama becoming our President in January to today (April 2011) we see another decrease in the percentage of people employed in our nation of 2% (60.5-58.5)....

...One could blame it on Bush- the last 1.9% drop did occur during his administration. Over the first 89 months of Bush's Presidency, the percentage of people employed in our nation dropped by 1.9%. Over his last 9 months, it dropped by another 1.9%...

...Under Republican control of Congress and a Republican President, the percentage of those employed as a percentage of all workers in our nation went down 1.8 % (64.6 in Jan of 2000 to 62.8 in Dec of 2005). Under Democratic control of Congress and a Republican President, the percentage went down 1.8% (62.8 to 61). Under Democratic Congress and Democrat President, the percentage went down 1.5% so far (61 to 58.5)....

UPDATE, August 2011: Employment-Population Ratio (seasonally adjusted) has collapsed recently, down to 58.1%. I imagine that it is the GOP's fault, since the Democrats still control the Presidency and the Senate and our nation is working off of budgets and policies set in place by a Democratic Congress from 2007-2011.