They're students, retirees, people living on disability and those laid off, too discouraged to look anymore.

Whatever their background, they're among the 1 of every 2 Detroit adults neither holding a job nor looking -- the worst percentage for 2010 among 41 major U.S. cities.

This vast segment -- some 174,000 Detroiters ages 16-64 who do not work -- poses a serious challenge for a city on the brink of fiscal ruin.If Detroit is to pull out of its fiscal mess, a higher percentage of adults needs to have the skills necessary to enter the work force and join the local economy, ultimately adding to Detroit's income tax base, said Kurt Metzger, director of the Data Driven Detroit demographic research firm.

"These are not necessarily people who have chosen not to work," he said. "Some of them have been beaten down for years. It's a huge problem for the city. It's a huge problem for the region."

The labor force participation rate is based on different criteria than the traditional unemployment rate, which counts people who want to work but cannot find jobs. The jobless rate is 17.8% in Detroit.

The participation rate, tracked by the federal government, is a much broader count of any adult who has a job or is trying to get one. The higher the rate, the healthier the city and its economy, generally speaking.

Most major cities see at least 60% of adults participating in the work force, either by working jobs or actively applying for them. In several cities -- Seattle, Charlotte, N.C., and Denver, for example -- more than 70% of adult residents are in the labor force.

Detroit's rate is the lowest among big cities: 49.8%.

By John Gallagher and Jeff Seidel

Detroit Free Press Staff Writers

Continued at: http://www.freep.com/article/2012040...CFRONTPAGE%7Cs