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US labor force participation continues to slide

70 points by toomuchtodo

by esbranson

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> In November 2023, the labor force participation rate reached 62.8%
In November 2023, the prime age (25-54 years old) labor force participation rate was 83.4%.[1]
> At the same time, the labor force participation rate edged down from 62.0% in February to 61.9% in March, the lowest level since November 2021.
The prime age LFPR was 83.9% and 83.8% in February and March 2026, and 82% in November 2021.[1]
The prime age labor participation rate is just about the highest it's ever been in recorded history. The gender gap is also the lowest it's ever been.[2]
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300060
[2] https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/spotlighting...

by drillsteps5

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Ufff.
>Those readings were the strongest since February 2020 (63.3%), signaling that more people were re-entering the workforce and helping to ease labor shortages in the wake of the pandemic. Labor shortages. In the wake of the pandemic. That ended 4 years ago. Ssuuure.
>For workers 55 and older, demographic factors are key, with more individuals retiring, particularly since the pandemic. Got it. "Retiring": giving up on finding a job because nobody hires 50+ yo (either in the trades or white collar)
>These findings reinforce a clear post pandemic trend: young men remain the most likely to be on the sidelines of the labor force. This underscores the need for policymakers and businesses alike to develop strategies to draw more of them back into the labor market—efforts that could help ease workforce shortages by expanding the overall supply of labor.
"Nobody wants to work"
>As labor force participation among young people declines, fewer teenagers are gaining access to those formative early work experiences, and the essential skills that come with them, which have lasting implications for both individual career trajectories and the broader economy.
Have 2 teenage sons, at 14, 15, and 16 (last 2 summers) they were looking for a summer job (US, suburbs), retail, fast food... Anything, really. I made them apply to as many places around us as possible. Nothing.
>It also aligns with widespread anecdotal reports that finding employment today is more difficult than it was a year or two ago.
"anecdotal" Who wrote this stuff???

by andrewclunn

1 subcomments

Question, are these stats based on the most recent census data for population and then reported employment numbers? If so changes in population (considerable deportations for example) might effect an assumed denominator that no longer holds. That said if the labor numbers rely on above board work, then perhaps that would not impact the numerator as much either. The methodology is important here.

by FrustratedMonky

2 subcomments

Is it? or were a few people, lets say, put across the border.

by josefritzishere

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It's almost like tariffs incrase prices and utterly basic laws of supply and demand prevail, thus slowing the economy.

by FrustratedMonky

3 subcomments

Flagged? Really?
In a post about labor shortages in Restaurants? We can't mention immigration?
Who do you think worked in the kitchen?

by Herring

1 subcomments

[flagged]