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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for August 9, 2018
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
August 9, 2018: Eighty-two percent (82.1%) of Americans aged 25-54 are currently in the workforce.[1] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s the highest level of workforce participation since 2010. It’s up from the 21st century low of 80.6% in September 2015.
A Brookings Institution report noted that the participation rate “is now close to recovering entirely from its cyclical downturn following the Great Recession. This comes after a decades-long decline in male prime-age participation and a 15-year slide in female prime-age participation.”[2]
Looking longer term, prime-age participation in the labor force was around 65% in 1950. It reached 70% for the first time in 1965 and 80% for the first time in 1982. Generally, these trends were driven by the increased participation of women in the workforce.
The all-time high of 84.6% was reached in January 1999. Following 9/11, participation generally remained around 83% until the Great Recession. According to Brookings, “Continued improvements in labor force participation rates in the next few months will be crucial to determining whether recent progress constitutes merely a rebound from a cyclical low or an actual reversal of the downward trend.”
The overall labor force participation rate—for people of all ages—has been generally declining over the past two decades. It peaked at 67.3% in January 2000 and is at 62.9% today. That trend is generally driven by an aging population and a growing number of retirees.[3]
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- August 8, 2018 – 76 environmental regulations rolled back by Trump administration
- August 7, 2018 – 11 hours per day spent interacting with media by average American
- August 6, 2018 – 30.43 billion dollars spent on drunk shopping
- August 3, 2018 – 6 Democratic Senate seats at risk in midterm elections
- August 2, 2018 – 13 Republican governorships at risk in midterm elections
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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