This Labor Day, we need to take time out to honor the American worker. After all, the men and women on the job seem to be an endangered species.

While the overall unemployment rate has almost returned to pre-recession levels (the July rate was only 4.9 percent—down from a recession peak of 10.0 percent in October 2009), participation in the workforce has been steadily dropping over much of that same time period.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks these figures, looking at the percent of those ages 16 and over who are gainfully employed as part of the civilian labor force. A graph of that number from the start of the millennium to today shows pretty much a straight downward progression, from 67.3 percent in the early months of 2000 to 62.4 percent about a year ago.

A big part of the reason for that is our aging population. The baby boomers (loosely defined as those born between 1946 and 1964) are living longer than their parents ever did, and many are now retiring, taki...