What We Know – And Don’t Know – About the Declining Labor Force Participation Rate
Today’s unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, showing the United States still nearing “full employment,” will dominate the mainstream news. But behind the headlines is a troubling, stubborn trend: men and women dropping out of the labor force. Today’s report confirms this decline, with the labor force participation rate sitting at 62.9 percent compared to its 1990s peak of 67.3 percent. This declining participation rate, particularly among prime-age workers (ages 25 to 54), and its implications for…
