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Men’s Falling Labor Force Participation across Generations

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The labor force participation rate for prime-age men has been declining for decades. About 14% of millennial males at age 25 are not in the labor force, compared with 7% of baby boomer males when they were that age. This generational gap declines substantially as groups approach middle age; the decline reflects that younger millennials enrolled in postsecondary education at higher rates and moved into the workforce later than prior generations. The convergence for millennial males suggests that the trend of men’s higher nonparticipation rates may slow in the future.

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  • Leila Bengali & Evgeniya A. Duzhak & Cindy Zhao, 2023. "Men’s Falling Labor Force Participation across Generations," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, vol. 2023(06), pages 1-6, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfel:97095
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    1. Andreas Hornstein & Marianna Kudlyak & Brigid C. Meisenbacher & David Ramachandran, 2023. "How Far Is Labor Force Participation from Its Trend?," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, vol. 2023(20), pages 1-5, August.
    2. Ariel J. Binder & John Bound, 2019. "The Declining Labor Market Prospects of Less-Educated Men," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 163-190, Spring.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Trends in US labor force participation rates for men
      by ? in FRED blog on 2025-09-11 13:00:00

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