Half a Million Men Are Still Missing From the U.S. Workforce

The employment of Americans in their prime working years is close to where it was before the Pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 86.1% of prime-age men had jobs in March. The prime-age male employment rate averaged 93.8% in the 1950s and 60s. More men would have jobs if it were that high today.

Three-quarters of today's nonemployed prime-age men are not actively looking for work. Some are in school and others are taking care of kids, but most are missing from the labor force for less benign reasons that researchers put a lot of effort into understanding in the 2010s. There are fewer job opportunities for the less educated and the number of formerly incarcerated men is growing. Second, health problems have taken a toll. Men may have less interest in work for a variety of reasons, including changing marriage prospects, increased reliance on government programs, and improved quality of video games.