Number of Americans not in the labor force surges to record 105.8M as total exceeds Great Recession, COVID era

It’s hot NILF summer for American workers.The number of adults who are “not in the labor force” (NILF) surged to an all-time high in June to 105.8 million, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis.The record comes after a massive surge of 832,000 workers dropping out of the labor force in June alone.

The overall number of NILFs is higher than at the height of the Great Recession or the COVID pandemic.The definition is broad — it covers all Americans age 16 and over who aren’t currently working, including retirees and students.Leading labor economist Nicholas Eberstadt told The Post that drilling down into the data reveals a startling pattern of dropouts, particularly among men.“We’ve got a big problem…with the flight from work of prime-age men.And what’s been carrying the overall prime-age labor force participation has been the strong involvement of women, not men,” said Eberstadt, who holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute.Some 5.3 million workers — 5% of NILFs — have dropped out because they are discouraged or they’re not even bothering to look for work.In addition, up to 22% of America’s NILF population are on long-term illness, disability, or other forms of benefits — representing more than 23.3 million Americans.That startling figure is even higher than the percentage of Americans over 16 in full-time education, which is between 16 and 18%, or just over 19 million Americans.By far the largest segment of the NILF population is retirees, who make up up to 50% of the total Americans not working.

That’s not surprising, given the large cohort of Baby Boomers who are in their golden years.Some 45% of NILFs are retirees who took standard retirement at the age of 65 or later.About 3-5% retired early.While the absolute number of NILFs is at a record, the portion of Americans in the labor market hit 59% in June.

That’s the lowest since September 2021, as the US emer...