Final answer:
Discouraged workers are individuals who have stopped looking for work due to the lack of suitable jobs, often not counted in the labor force or standard unemployment rates. Their number tends to rise during a recession, affecting labor force participation rates.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term discouraged workers refers to individuals who have given up looking for work because they believe that there are no suitable jobs available for them. They are not counted as part of the labor force and do not appear in standard unemployment rates. These individuals have not earned income from a job in the past four weeks, but they are ready, willing, and able to work. During a recession, the number of discouraged workers often increases.
When discussing the labor force participation rate, the reclassification of employed individuals as unemployed would increase the unemployment rate because they are still part of the labor force and are actively seeking employment. Conversely, if employed individuals are reclassified as discouraged workers, they are no longer considered part of the labor force, which would lead to a decrease in the labor force participation rate.