Some further reading for the curious [1][2]. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the structural unemployment issue is indeed due to rapidly advancing automation technologies.

Note that the current 58% labour force participation rate is startlingly low when compared to the past two decades.

1. http://econfuture.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/china-robotsautom...

2. http://raceagainstthemachine.com/2012/01/05/the-rebound-that...