[OC] Why prime-age adults (25–54) are out of the labor force differs sharply for Men and Women
by OverflowDs
[OC] Why prime-age adults (25–54) are out of the labor force differs sharply for Men and Women
by OverflowDs
5 Comments
Using March 2026 Current Population Survey (CPS) data, caregiving was the leading reason women ages 25–54 were out of the labor force, while disability was the leading reason for men.
I thought the contrast was interesting because “not in the labor force” is often discussed as a single category, even though the underlying circumstances can be very different.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), March 2026.
Made in Tableau.
Fewer men are out of the labor force than women so the disabled category looks bigger in comparison, also men are more likely to work trades that can fuck up your body.
Would this be more revealing if the percentage given were for percentage of the population aged 25-52 rather than percentage of that part of the age cohort not currently working?
Being a fulltime caregiver during and/or directly after college make it incredibly difficult to enter the job market due to lack of job history. This also applies to anyone who has a gap in employment due to illness with early gaps being extremely difficult to overcome. Discrimination against people covered by the ADA is keeping people out of the workforce. People who are/were homeless have a hard time getting into the job market.
White-collar entry-level/early career jobs are increasingly being offshored and what’s left is reserved for the most recent graduates. Basically, people can’t get job experience to get a decent job. People with experience are also penalized for an employment gap.
Involuntary NEETs have my sympathy. Also, BLS methodology is bovine manure.
25 and 54 are not prime. The former is divisible by 5 and the latter is even