American Men Continue to Leave the Workforce

American men are bowing out of the workforce in record numbers, and not just because they're hitting retirement age. Labor Department data show that in April, one-third of men were neither working nor looking for work, pushing male labor-force participation to a historic low outside the first months of the pandemic, reports the Washington Post. The drop extends a decades-long slide and is now driven not only by aging baby boomers but also by young men who are in school or simply not engaged in work or education at all. The percentage of men 16 and older not participating in the workforce has dropped from 74% to 67% this spring over the last 20 years.

Economists warn the shift could weigh on growth, tax revenue, and social stability as a services-heavy economy adds jobs largely in female-dominated sectors like health care and education. Male-heavy fields such as manufacturing and transportation have shed positions, while men without degrees, those with criminal records, and those with health issues describe finding work as nearly impossible. Last month, the jobs site Indeed found that more women than men were employed in the US for only the third time ever, notes Axios. "There are guys just dropping off the planet," says University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson.