America is losing men from the labor force, and has been for more than 50 years. How do we account for the trend? And how do we reverse it?
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This trend persists through stable economic times and recession years. It doesn’t even change much during the growth spurts of the 1990’s.
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For the last 50 years, men, traditionally thought of as the primary breadwinners, have been opting out of the labor force.
As explained in this excellent piece on NPR’s special series, “Men in America,” this growing statistic isn’t based on unemployed men, because the unemployed are still considered to be part of the labor force. It’s based on the number of men who aren’t employed, and aren’t actively seeking employment.
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Even though I’ve seen symptoms of this trend, I was still astonished at the steady downward direction of the squiggly line representing statistics of “Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate Among Men 25-To-54 Years Old” – 97% in 1948 down to 88% in 2013.
This trend persists through stable economic times and recession years. It doesn’t even change much during the growth spurts of the 1990’s.
(Interestingly enough, the same measurement for women in the labor force goes from 47% in 1948 to 74% in 2013.)
The experts featured in the NPR interview offered several areas of speculation – some factors such as men staying in school longer (therefore still being in school past the age of 25 which was the youngest age group in the statistic) or retiring earlier (prior to 54 which was the oldest age group represented) were dismissed as relatively insignificant.
The NPR piece didn’t reference military enlistment, but since the study referenced only “Civilian Labor Force Participation” I went looking for military recruitment statistics. Since military recruitment between 2007 and 2010 was an average of 84% male, it seems reasonable to think that the increased enlistment since 9/11 might have some impact on recent trends. But the overall numbers don’t account for the trend, nor would that explain the prior 40 years of decline.
So people who want a job, but haven’t taken any action that would put them in touch with a possible employer are considered “not in the labor force.”
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I thought that a better understanding of how these statistics are obtained might offer some enlightenment. The statistics for engagement in the labor force are pulled (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) from Census Interviews.
I’ve never been interviewed for the Census, but according to the official website, a person isn’t considered employed or unemployed according to their own definition, but according to how they answer a number of questions.
Within those parameters, anyone who was working (paid or unpaid since there is a category for “unpaid family members”) during the week the survey was performed, or if they had a job during that week but were not working due to vacation, sickness, family leave, weather, or a labor dispute, they are considered employed. If they do not have a job, but report that they have actively looked for work in the last four weeks, they are considered unemployed. So people who want a job, but haven’t taken any action that would put them in touch with a possible employer are considered “not in the labor force.”
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And men have been opting out of actively seeking employment. According to one of the experts in the NPR interview, Political Economist, Nicholas Eberstadt, there are twice as many guys between 25 and 54 who aren’t even looking for a job as who are unemployed.
Why?
Well, a lot of them have simply given up. I’ve met many once-high-level-managers, as well as a whole slew of tech developers and designers, who got tired of being “in transition” and decided to be a “freelancer.” If the Census interviewer would have chatted with any of them in a week when they didn’t have a client or project they would have been considered to have opted out of the labor force. Because, while they would be thrilled to be offered a job, they can make (slightly) more doing freelance consulting or project gigs than they can working as unskilled laborers, so they aren’t actively interviewing or job hunting.
It’s great if men no longer feel they have to be the only one “bringing home the bacon,” but I don’t think anyone believes that this “opting out” is purely by choice.
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Some of them just decided to stay home. As the NPR article says, the stigma about being “Mr. Mom” isn’t what it used to be.
Some of them are on disability. Or have taken early retirement.
But perhaps the important question is not “where are they?” but “why aren’t they working?” It’s great if men no longer feel they have to be the only one “bringing home the bacon,” but I don’t think anyone believes that this “opting out” is purely by choice.
The other relevant graph in the article demonstrates what MIT Economist, David Autor, says is one of the most relevant factors, (especially since unskilled labor and manufacturing jobs are more and more commonly being outsourced to other countries) the gender difference in college education.
In 1960 more than 60% of Bachelor’s degrees awarded went to men. In 2013 that number had dropped to 40%. That’s right, by 2013 women earned over 60% of the Bachelor’s degrees given out.
Why aren’t men completing their degrees? And how does that relate to why men are leaving the workforce? Perhaps if we address one puzzle we solve the other?
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Our own Scott Heydt, Editor of The Good Men Project’s Guyhood section, boys have been facing educational challenges for years. In his request for stories and articles relating to male education, he cites issues both structural (curriculum/classroom design and grading systems) and cultural (boys are conditioned to think that caring about school isn’t “manly.”)
Now it’s your turn. […] What’s working? What needs fixing? What do you think can be done to make it better?
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My own observations of the three generations now in the work force suggest that perhaps we need to rethink what it means to have an education. While the formal Bachelor’s Degree is still widely considered a benchmark, many of the more in demand jobs require a more specialized skill set. In fact, a large percentage of the “in transition” groups I referenced previously were considered to be over-educated, but not current and relevant.
More industry-specific programs like LaunchCode, founded here in St. Louis by Square co-creator, Jim McKelvey, which matches novice coders with experienced mentors then helps to place their graduates in the job market, would, I believe, be more meaningful than simply trying to get more men into traditional four-year degree programs.
Incubator programs, like the Begin New Venture Center, also offer an important bridge by giving start-ups the guidance and resources they need to succeed. The success of these businesses will not only mean that the founders are in the workforce, they also provide employment opportunities for other as the business grows.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me what you think about men in the workforce, men in the educational system, men as entrepreneurs, or men being full time fathers and husbands. What’s working? What needs fixing? What do you think can be done to make it better?
Photo: Flickr/Don Shall
Then we have this kind of thing. Jobs for men? “Justice Department sues Pennsylvania State Police, claiming fitness tests discriminate against women” “The lawsuit said the use of the tests to screen and select the applicants for the entry-level positions amounted to a pattern of employment discrimination. Much greater percentages of male applicants than female applicants passed the physical fitness tests going back to 2003, it said. As a result, the state police had failed to hire dozens of women for entry-level trooper positions on an equal basis with men, it said.”
Is this fair?
More and more I suspect the motives of anyone, male or female who wants to be a cop. Like politics, it attracts people who have a need to control others and impose their will. Like a smoker needs a cigarette or an alchoholic needs a drink the NEED the power. A better question would be is it fair to give anyone that much authority?
I just read something interesting. There is a climb in stay at home moms. Now what? Guys can’t find jobs and …..
Way , there was many things to aspire to in the past that were a whole lot clearer and much simpler to gravitate towards , nothing is special about marriage (more risk less gain), and most careers entail less rewards compared to the effort spent on them , so unless there is high financial reward to it , it ain’t worth it , unless there is a lot of personal gratification from it like a hobby ( computers, writing codes, techie stuff,… etch, the rest ( children , societal concerns ) , to cumbersome , with minimum benefits .
My theory is that it’s the kinds of jobs that are left. Most traditional m as le jobs have been downsized or outsourced, so most places have no jobs or only the crappy service jobs men don’t want to do (I.e., witnessing, cleaning houses).
What works? Jobs … it’s that simple. Stay at home dads is GREAT but fewer men are getting married, having kids. I have no idea what we’re going to do with the over 50’s group where age is clearly against them much less the ones who don’t have the college degree. I believe the idea of men struggling with their spouse working is long gone because of economic needs. So I don’t believe it’s an issues but it is when men have a hard time getting a job. SAHD’s is for many men a default option. Yeah, it’s a great… Read more »
Great article! I agree with you, in that having more industry specific programs would be better than going to college for a four year degree. A lot of men, such as myself, just aren’t that academically inclined and a lot of men would much rather do hands on work than sit in a class room everyday just pushing a pen. I have struggled myself finding a job as have many men I know that have no formal education beyond high school.
It would be great if schools were more geared towards specialization to reflect the shift in needs of our current workforce. I don’t see how this has to do with men specifically though. It seems to be more of a failure in our education system to keep up with technology and the way our economy works. It never adapted even though our society has changed and it is failing everyone. An accountant should be forced to pay hundreds of dollars to take an intro to biology class in college. College should be about preparing for the future workforce. High school… Read more »
I wonder something. For many years I have read certain feminists who say that when they behave badly it is because “Men have behaved badly for so long it is our turn now”. Could this same attitude apply to Men and Jobs , for most of human history it is men who have died on the job, Men who have ‘slaved’ away at work only to die at an early age. Could it be that men are saying to women “you want to work 60+ hours a work where you only reward is a paycheck and an early grave ,… Read more »
Perhaps. It’s no more reasonable, rational, or likely to end in a solution than it is when feminists say it. But it’s possible. Somehow people think pushing the pendulum will bring things into balance. Never has, never will.
Men have always been considered disposable. Add up heart attacks, work related accidents, suicides and wars and you will see the pattern. Add to that 40 years of being told that we are not needed, as well as being potential rapists and abusers. Men Going Their Own Way, or MGTOW is a response to this.
jatc, I said it years ago when women were pushing for jobs. The old saying, “careful what you ask for, you may get it” and low and behold, take a look at the health issues are facing these days, let alone not having a determinant partner. And to be honest jatc, women have not encountered the conditions men have had. They still don’t have anywhere near the job injuries and deaths men have. Why? because those aren’t the jobs women want. Growing up in the 60’s/70’s, there was still a lot of labor jobs yet the feminists painted a picture… Read more »
Should have read “permanent” partner
I love being a stay at home mom. We had a son with unexpected low functioning autism, so our old-fashioned arrangement is actually a necessity. I feel sorry for the modern feminist women who have it all. Now you can work full time, be a single mom, and still clean the toilets. You’ve come a long way baby!
In her book Men On Strike, Helen Smith cites several factors for men dropping out of the work force and college. The main reason is that many simply see no benefit in it. Why kill yourself when you are not going to do any better than your parents did?
I’m seeing that in the latest generation in the workforce – men and women. But they’re finding creative ways to be productive, valuable, and solvent. We can do better than our parents, but we can’t do it with the same approach and mindset that they used.
If most members of the “latest generation” were all coming up with their own “creative” solutions to this trend, then it should not be a trend. It is good when innovative individuals find ways to succeed and thrive, but that does not mean that their solution is going to bring salvation to the rest of the people create the worrying statistic, or that their solution is even applicable to the generation at large. And when you say “we can do better than our parents,” in what sense do you mean “better”? The professional and socio-economic sense? Perhaps the males who… Read more »
Is that a variation of, “Work smarter, not harder?”
“cultural (boys are conditioned to think that caring about school isn’t “manly.” – which doesn’t make sense because back in the 60’s, when we’re told that men were of the “not manly” was a common mind set, the 60% of Bachelors were men. So when and how did the mindset change and who changed it?