In the years following June 2009, the U.S. saw a significant job creation of 2.4 million positions. However, during the same timeframe, 3.3 million Americans received disabled worker benefits. This shift raises concerns about the increasing reliance on disability insurance among the working-age population, which has jumped from under three percent in the early 1990s to around six percent today.

This trend suggests that actual unemployment statistics may be obscured, reflecting a situation similar to what is witnessed in some European countries. Many able-bodied individuals are finding themselves classified as disabled, leading to a permanent exit from the workforce and raising questions about the sustainability of this shift in labor dynamics, as noted by Niall Ferguson in his book "The Great Degeneration."