Data Points To Stark Change Among American Men
Economists have offered several explanations for the trend, including automation, declining manufacturing employment, changing wages, disability, education levels, and shifts in the broader economy. But the scale of the problem has also raised a more uncomfortable question: Has American culture become less willing to expect able-bodied adults to work, even when the work available is […]
Economists have offered several explanations for the trend, including automation, declining manufacturing employment, changing wages, disability, education levels, and shifts in the broader economy. But the scale of the problem has also raised a more uncomfortable question: Has American culture become less willing to expect able-bodied adults to work, even when the work available is difficult, unglamorous, or far removed from their ideal career?
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that labor-force participation among men between the ages of 25 and 54 has declined significantly over the past several decades. In the middle of the 20th century, more than 95 percent of prime-age men were either working or actively looking for employment. Today, the rate is considerably lower, leaving millions of men outside the workforce.
That change cannot be dismissed as a temporary result of a recession. It has developed over generations.
The Bipartisan Policy Center has noted that the decline involves a complicated mix of economic and social factors. Still, the long-term withdrawal of so many men from paid employment carries consequences that go beyond monthly labor statistics.
Nicholas Eberstadt, who has written extensively about men leaving the workforce, has argued that the trend reduces living standards while also weakening habits of independence and responsibility. In his view, a society in which large numbers of able-bodied adults remain detached from regular employment risks normalizing dependency.
That concern deserves serious attention.
America’s safety net was created to help people through hardship. Programs providing disability assistance, food support, housing subsidies, and other benefits serve an important purpose, particularly for people who genuinely cannot support themselves.
But good intentions do not make a system immune from bad incentives.
When a person can combine several forms of public assistance while remaining outside the labor force, the financial difference between taking a difficult, entry-level job and not working can become surprisingly small. In some circumstances, earning additional income can also mean losing benefits, creating what economists often call a benefits cliff.