Labor Force Participation Deterioration Among the U.S.-Born at the State Level, 1960 to 2024

This analysis focuses on the six-decade increase in the share of working-age, U.S.-born men not in the labor force at the state level. Those not in the labor force are neither working nor looking for work and do not show up as unemployed because they are not actively looking for a job. The analysis is a companion to a much longer report that looked in detail at the dramatic increase in the share of working-age Americans not in the labor force at the national level. As is true for the country as whole, in 2024 many states’ labor force participation roughly returned to pre-Covid levels. However, it is still the case that the percentage of U. S.-born men not in the labor force remains at or near historic highs.

While the reasons for this deterioration are much debated, there is no debate that the decline contributes to serious social problems, such as suicide, crime, drug overdose deaths, and welfare dependency. Despite this, some political leaders, including many in states where deterioration in labor force participation is very large, advocate to bring in more foreign workers, rather than drawing working-age Americans on the economic sidelines back into jobs.

Among the findings:

• In every state, the share of working-age (16 to 64) U.S.-born men not in the labor force was higher in 2000 than in 1960. In 48 states, the rate was even higher in 2024 than in 2000.
• The largest increases in the share of working-age men not working since 2000 have been in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Alaska, Florida, New Jersey, Mississippi, North Carolina, and California.
• In 1960, there were just seven states where more than one in seven working-age, U.S.-born men were not in the labor force. By 2000, there were 39 states where this was the case. By 2024, more than one in seven U.S. men were not in the labor force in 48 states.
• Excluding the young and those who might have retired early and looking only at U.S.-born men of “prime age” (25 to 54), shows an increase in the share not in the labor force in every state from 1960 to 2000 and a further increase in 47 states from 2000 to 2024.
• In 1960, there were 37 states where less than 5 percent of prime-age, U.S.-born men were not in the labor force. There are no such states in 2024.
• While traditionally higher than the share of men, the share of women (16 to 64) not in the labor force increased dramatically from 1960 to 2000 as women entered the labor force in huge numbers. After 2000 the trend reversed, with an increase in women not in the labor force. There has been some increase in participation post-Covid, but it has not returned to the 2000 level.

Among the Less-Educated

• The increase in working-age, U.S.-born men (16 to 64) not in the labor force is most pronounced among those without a bachelor’s, declining in every state from 1960 to 2000 and declining further from 2000 to 2024.
• The percentage of U.S.-born men (16 to 64) without a bachelor’s not in the labor force increased by nearly 15 percentage points on average across states from 1960 to 2024, compared to 10 percentage points for U.S.-born men (16 to 64) of all education levels.
• Like their male counterparts, the share of U.S.-born women (16 to 64) without a bachelor's not in the labor force increased from 2000 to 2019 in most states. However, post-Covid the share not in the labor force has decreased somewhat in most states.
• In general, working-age immigrant men and women do not show a pattern of consistent increase in the share not in the labor force. However, the percentage of immigrant men (16 to 64) without a bachelor’s not in the labor force nationally and in 35 states has increased since 2006, when their employment peaked before the Great Recession.

Discussion. For more discussion of the issues surrounding labor force participation see our large new national-level study on that topic. As we point out in that study, there are an enormous number of interest groups, politicians, opinion writers, and others arguing that due to the low unemployment rate, the aging of society, or the number of unfilled jobs, the nation requires significantly more immigration. But as is the case at the national level, this report shows that at the state level the share not in the labor force remains at extremely high levels in most of the country. This is particularly the case for U.S.-born men without a four-year college degree. Those outside the labor force are neither working nor looking for work and are not counted as unemployed because they are not actively seeking a job. This Excel file contains state-level labor force participation information.

The Data. This analysis is based on public-use decennial census data from 1960 to 1990, along with the March, April, and May Current Population Surveys (CPS) for the peak years of 2000, 2006, 2019, and 2024. The decennial census no longer asks about citizenship and it only provides information every 10 years, so it does not perfectly correspond to peak years of participation between recessions. But it is the only nativity data going back decades. The census is conducted in April, so using a three-month sample with April as the middle month provides robust state-level estimates that match the same time of year as the decennial census. However, it should be noted that for states with small immigrant populations, the sample is still modest in size and should be interpreted in that context, particularly decades ago when there was much less immigration. We exclude those in institutions (primarily prisons and jails) and we focus on men, because unlike women, men have not been heavily impacted by the profound social, cultural, and legal changes that caused an ever-larger share of women to join the labor force, at least through 2000. Men, on the other hand, have experienced a well-documented decline in labor force participation and there is an accompanying body of research showing the harmful effects of the decline. Of course, we also report figures for women.

We use the term “immigrant” in this report synonymously with “foreign-born”. This includes all those who were not U.S.-citizens at birth, including illegal immigrants.¹ Also, our analysis of the labor force participation rate is only for those of working age broadly defined (16 to 64) or of prime working age (25 to 54). The elderly are not included in this analysis. The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes the elderly when it reports the labor force participation rate in its monthly employment situation reports. But including the elderly conflates the decline in participation among the working-age with the overall aging of American society.

End Note

¹ The term “immigrant” has a specific meaning in U.S. immigration law, which is all those inspected and admitted as lawful permanent residents. In this analysis, we use the term “immigrant” in the non-technical sense of the word to mean all those who were not U.S.-citizens at birth. Typically, the government refers to these individuals in surveys such as the CPS or decennial census as the “foreign-born”. While it may surprise some, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is clear that illegal immigrants are included in the CPS. The Census Bureau is equally clear that illegal immigrants are included in the census every 10 years and the surveys it collects for the BLS such as the CPS, though some fraction are missed in the census or in surveys. Although there is some undercount, immigrants, or the foreign-born, in the CPS and decennial census include naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents (green card holders), long-term temporary visitors (e.g. guestworkers), and illegal immigrants.