The number of people working, even as a percentage of the population, has gone way up, as shown in Kurzweil's book The Singularity Is Nearer (expected June 18, 2024).

Judge the factual claim that the number of people working, even as a percentage of the population, has gone 'way up' (over the long historical span Kurzweil references). True if labor-force-participation or employment-to-population data over the relevant long period show a clear, large increase on a percentage-of-population basis. Mostly true if the trend holds with a minor caveat. Mostly false if there was only a modest increase or the increase holds only for a sub-period/subgroup. False if the percentage has not risen or has fallen over the period.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Table Data - Employment-Population Ratio FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2 October 2026

   “| Notes | | | DATE | VALUE | |---|---| | 1948-01-01 | 56.6 |”

2. E2 Table Data - Employment-Population Ratio FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2 October 2026

   “| 2026-08-01 | 59.1 | | 2026-09-01 | 59.2 |”

3. E3 Table Data - Employment-Population Ratio FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2 October 2026

   “| 1994-12-01 | 63.1 | | 1995-01-01 | 63.0 |”

The evidence covers only the U.S. employment-population ratio from 1948 onward. It was 56.6 percent in January 1948 [E1], about 63 percent in 1994–1995 [E3] and 59.2 percent in September 2026 [E2]. The surroundings of the claim point to a much longer span, starting around 1774, and none of the evidence covers that period, so it does not settle whether the percentage of people working rose sharply over the span the claim refers to.