Decline in Labor Force Participation Among Prime-Age Men in the US

A significant percentage of men in the United States have dropped out of the labor force in recent years, particularly between the ages of 25 and 54, who are considered to be in their prime working years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among prime working age males was 3.4% as of August 2024. This number includes primarily those who are unemployed and those seeking employment.

However, about 10.5% of men in their prime years of work, or about 6.8 million men in the United States, are not working or looking for work, compared with only 2.5% in 1954.

Concerns Over Labor Force Participation

“The long-term decline in labor force participation by so-called youth is a huge concern for our society, our economy, and perhaps our political system,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist at the American Enterprise Institute.

Education and Labor Market Participation

Education is an important predictor of men’s likelihood of leaving the labor market at an early age.

“The biggest impact is on non-college-educated groups, affecting their ability to enter and stay in the labor market,” said Jeff Stroll, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

A Pew Research Center study found that men without a college education leave the workforce at a higher rate than men with a college education. At the same time, the number of young people enrolling in college has declined over the past decade.

Factors Preventing Men from Entering the Labor Market

A BPC-Artemis Strategy Group survey of non-prime-working adults (defined in the survey as ages 20 to 54) conducted last year highlights the factors preventing today’s prime-age men from entering the labor market.

The survey considers those not looking for work (out of the labor force) and those looking for work (unemployed). For prime-age men not looking for work, health-related barriers are the most prominent factor, creating policies such as sick leave, health insurance, and flexible work arrangements that may encourage some to enter the labor force.

Health-Related Barriers

57% of early working-age men not in the labor force said their physical or mental health was the main reason, 55% cited disability or receiving critical illness and/or disability benefits, and 2% cited mental or emotional problems, or a behavioral health reason.

This was markedly different for men looking for work, where only 16% said their physical or mental health was the main reason they were out of work.

Importance of Health Insurance and Workplace Benefits

52% of older men out of the labor force cited health insurance benefits as a very important consideration when deciding whether to enter or return to the labor force. Workplace benefits lagged behind, including paid sick leave, disability accommodations, flexible work arrangements and paid personal medical leave.

Otherwise, 40% of men outside the labor force consider mental health benefits to be very important to starting a job. Meanwhile, 28% of prime-age men who exited the workforce specifically because of physical or mental illness said they were more likely to stay at their previous job if they had been able to take paid personal medical leave.

Caregiving Responsibilities

While women shoulder caregiving responsibilities, just over 30% of non-working men also cite caring for others – including the seriously ill, special needs, disabled or elderly family member – as a reason for not working. This number did not differ significantly between men who were looking for work and those who were not.

Having paid leave to care for family members is not as important a factor for men as it is for women when deciding whether to start or return to work. When asked whether such leave would increase their chances of working, a slight majority (52%) of prime-age men who were not looking for work said it was not an important factor, compared to only 43% of women in the same situation.