Thread by @bopinion

During each recession for the last 40 years, a sizable number of men — more than women — have left the labor force and not come back

So far, this has been true for the Covid pandemic , despite rising wages and the best job market in decades trib.al/2Ql0F7u

The male prime-age labor force participation rate — the share of men aged 25 to 54 who are either working or looking for work — has fallen over the years from 96% in 1970 to about 89% in 2020 before the pandemic trib.al/gi8P7HM

Less-educated men are the most likely to drop out of the workforce.

The rate of prime-age male high school graduates in the labor force is still 1.37 percentage points lower than before Covid. Only 84% of men without college degrees are in the labor force trib.al/gi8P7HM

The numbers look worse in some areas: In November only, 83% of prime age men were in the labor force in West Virginia and Vermont, and just 79% in Mississippi, while 92% of prime age men were engaged in the job market in Utah trib.al/gi8P7HM

Economists have offered many reasons to explain why fewer men are working in their prime career years.

One is that technology and globalization destroyed the routine jobs that provided employment to many trib.al/gi8P7HM

The idea is that these jobs have disappeared and men aren’t getting the skills they need to thrive in the new economy.

There's another theory that better leisure options, like video games, reduce the desire to work trib.al/gi8P7HM

Changes in the disability program made it easier to claim benefits and never return to the labor market.

Americans are generally sicker: 35% of disabled Americans report a mental health disorder and 30% report disabilities that may be related to obesity trib.al/gi8P7HM

Opioids also play a role, but how that plays out isn't clear.

The burden of an opioid addiction could keep people from working. Some economists speculate that a grim labor market might also make more people turn to drugs trib.al/gi8P7HM

Time out of work is associated with depression and poor health.

Keeping people employed and productive is important for a growing, vibrant, inclusive economy trib.al/gi8P7HM

We need to think bigger and create an economy where people of all skill levels can thrive and reach their potential.

That starts with better and more rigorous secondary school education and reviving vocational high schools trib.al/gi8P7HM