Men Without Work

1. The Invisible Crisis: Millions of American Men Have Dropped Out of the Workforce

America is now home to an immense army of jobless men no longer even looking for work—more than seven million alone between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five, the traditional prime of working life.

A hidden epidemic. Since the 1960s, a growing number of American men have been voluntarily exiting the workforce, creating an invisible crisis that has largely gone unnoticed. This phenomenon is not primarily due to unemployment or retirement, but rather a conscious choice to disengage from work entirely. The scale of this problem is staggering:

• Over 7 million prime-age men (25-55) are neither working nor seeking work
• The total number of un-working men aged 20-64 exceeds 10 million
• These figures represent a historically unprecedented mass exodus from the labor force

Consequences of inaction. The implications of this trend are far-reaching, affecting:

• Economic growth and productivity
• Social cohesion and family structures
• Government budgets and social welfare programs
• Individual well-being and sense of purpose

Despite its magnitude, this crisis has remained largely invisible to policymakers and the public, demanding urgent attention and action.

2. A Half-Century Decline: Work Rates for Prime-Age Men Have Plummeted Since 1965

Between 1965 and 2015, work rates for U.S. men twenty and older fell by a bit over thirteen percentage points (81.3 percent to 68.1 percent).

A stark downward trend. The decline in male labor force participation has been remarkably consistent over the past half-century, regardless of economic conditions:

• Prime-age male work rates fell from 94.1% in 1948 to 84.3% in 2015
• The proportion of prime-age men without jobs more than doubled from 1965 to 2015
• This trend has persisted through economic booms and busts

International comparison. The U.S. decline in male work rates is an outlier among developed nations:

• America ranks 22nd out of 23 OECD countries in prime-age male labor force participation
• Other nations like Japan have maintained higher work rates despite economic challenges
• The U.S. trend cannot be explained solely by global economic shifts or automation

This long-term decline suggests deep-seated structural issues in the American labor market and society, rather than simply cyclical economic factors.

3. The Demographic Profile: Who Are These Un-Working Men?

A single variable—having a criminal record—is a key missing piece in explaining why work rates and LFPRs have collapsed much more dramatically in America than other affluent Western societies over the past two generations.

Characteristics of un-working men. The demographic profile of men who have dropped out of the workforce reveals several key patterns:

• Education: Lower educational attainment correlates strongly with workforce detachment
• Race: African American men are disproportionately represented among the un-working
• Marital status: Unmarried men are more likely to be out of the workforce
• Criminal history: A significant portion have prior arrests or convictions

The immigrant exception. Interestingly, immigrant men, even those with low education levels, have higher labor force participation rates than native-born men. This suggests that factors beyond mere job availability are at play in the decline of male work.

The role of criminal records in workforce detachment is particularly striking and underappreciated, highlighting the need for better data collection and analysis on this population.

4. Time Use and Social Participation: How Do Un-Working Men Spend Their Days?

For un-working men, watching TV and movies ate up an average of five and a half hours a day. That's four hours a day more than for working women, nearly three and a half hours more than working men, and a striking two hours a day more than unemployed men.

A life of leisure? Un-working men have an enormous amount of free time compared to their employed counterparts, but how they spend this time is concerning:

• Television and screen time: 5.5 hours per day on average
• Minimal time spent on:
  • Household chores
  • Childcare or family responsibilities
  • Volunteering or community engagement
  • Job searching or skill development

Social disengagement. Beyond time use, un-working men show lower levels of social participation:

• Decreased religious attendance
• Lower rates of volunteering
• Reduced civic engagement (e.g., voting)
• Higher rates of reported illegal drug use

This pattern of time use suggests a troubling trend of social isolation and disengagement, potentially making it more difficult for these men to re-enter the workforce or contribute meaningfully to their communities.

5. The Role of Welfare and Disability: Financing the No-Work Lifestyle

By 2013, 57 percent of prime-age un-working men lived in homes reporting disability benefits, nearly twenty percentage points higher than it had been in 1985 and twice as high as the CEA assessment of the NILF problem indicated.

Government support. A complex web of welfare and disability programs has inadvertently enabled the growth of the un-working male population:

• Over half of prime-age un-working men receive disability benefits
• Nearly two-thirds of households with un-working men report some form of government assistance
• The expansion of these programs has coincided with the decline in male work rates

Living standards. Despite not working, many of these men maintain a standard of living that, while not affluent, is far from destitute:

• Average household income for un-working men: ~$41,000 (2014)
• Consumption levels place them around the 4th decile of U.S. households

This reliance on government support raises questions about the incentive structures in place and the long-term sustainability of these programs.

6. Criminal Records: A Key Factor in Male Workforce Detachment

As of 2010, we would expect that total to surpass 23 million persons by the end of 2016 at the latest. America's population of noninstitutionalized adults with a felony conviction somewhere in their past will almost certainly exceed 20 million by the end of 2016—and the current total for men within this group could now exceed 17 million, or 13 percent of all male adults in America.

The hidden impact of mass incarceration. The dramatic increase in incarceration rates since the 1970s has created a large population of men with criminal records, significantly impacting their employment prospects:

• An estimated 20 million Americans have felony convictions
• 13% of adult men have a felony record
• For some demographic groups (e.g., less-educated African American men), the rates are much higher

Employment barriers. Men with criminal records face significant challenges in the labor market:

• Lower employment rates across all demographic groups
• Higher rates of workforce detachment
• Reduced earnings potential

This factor helps explain the disproportionate impact on certain demographic groups and highlights the need for better data collection and targeted interventions for this population.

7. The Way Forward: Revitalizing Business, Reforming Welfare, and Reintegrating Ex-Offenders

It is imperative for the future health of our nation that we make a determined and sustained commitment to bringing these detached men back—back into the workplace, back into their families, back into our civil society.

A multi-faceted approach. Addressing the crisis of un-working men will require action on several fronts:

1. Revitalizing American business:

   • Encourage entrepreneurship and small business formation
   • Reduce regulatory burdens that stifle job creation

2. Reforming welfare and disability programs:

   • Shift focus from long-term dependence to reintegration into the workforce
   • Implement "work first" principles in social welfare policies

3. Reintegrating ex-offenders:

   • Develop evidence-based approaches for successful reentry into the workforce
   • Reform hiring practices to give second chances to those with criminal records

Urgent action required. The scale and persistence of this problem demand immediate attention from policymakers, business leaders, and society at large. Failure to address this crisis will have far-reaching consequences for American economic growth, social cohesion, and individual well-being.

Last updated: September 28, 2024