What are the real numbers? I like to see "participation" go up as I'm all for everyone contributing to the greater good.

"For forty years, I have decried the reliance upon the non-farm payrolls number as anything other than a number pulled from thin air. The revisions have been higher or lower in absolute terms by 40-50,000 per month, and there's no consistency to it," Gartman, the founder of the closely-watched "Gartman Letter" told CNBC Europe's "Squawk Box."

The data showed that the labor force participation rate tumbled to 62.8 percent, its worst level since January 1978. Gartman said the younger generation were looking for jobs less and less.

"In the cohort of 15-25 year olds, the number keeps falling every single month and it has since 1994. When the youngsters are asked would they take a job even if they could find one, the answer now is overwhelmingly 'no.' Meanwhile, the [participation rate] among the 55-65 cohort keeps going up."

"The young don't want to work and the elders are continuing to work," Gartman said.

via CNBC