While the 25- to 54-year-old age bracket has historically had the strongest showing in the labor market, the group’s labor participation rate has been declining since the turn of the century, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force participation rate is the proportion of the civilian population that is working or seeking work. This rate among 25- to 54-year-olds has been higher than 80 percent for the last several decades, and their ages of highest participation are during the 2014–24 timeframe.
However, because this group is much smaller than that of the baby boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964), the number of 25- to 54-year-olds will shrink as baby boomers reach ages with much lower participation rates.
While the group had a participation rate of 83.2 percent in 1994, it declined to 82.7 percent in 2004 and fell further to 81.2 percent in 2014. Their participation rate is projected to rise slightly but then stay essentially flat in the next decade.
Two other age groups, those 35 to 44 years old and those 45 to 54 years old, have also seen their participation rates decline since 2000.
The labor force participation rates of these two groups were 83.6 percent and 81.8 percent, respectively, in 2004, falling to 82.2 percent and 79.6 percent in 2014.
Over the 2014–24 timeframe, 35- to-44-year-olds are expected to have a declining participation rate, dropping from 82.2 percent to 81.7 percent.
The 45- to-54-year-old group is projected to have a slightly increasing participation rate, going from 79.6 percent to 81.0 percent.
Current Issue - April 2024