Family Needs Affect U.S. Labor Participation of Prime-Age Workers
Dvorkin, Maximiliano; Isaacson, Maggie (2022-01-13)
The share of people ages 25-55 who are out of the U.S. labor force because they’re taking care of family or the home rose sharply during the pandemic.
On the Economy

Journal Article
Why Is Prime-Age Labor Force Participation So High?
Valletta, Robert G.; Baskar Prabhakar, Deepika (2024-01-16)
The labor force participation (LFP) rate for prime-age workers surged from early 2021 through early 2023, especially for women. This helped reduce the large shortfall of available workers relative to available jobs that emerged during the recovery from the pandemic. Analysis of state labor markets indicates that the cyclical response of prime-age LFP was much more pronounced during the two most recent business cycles than in prior ones. This state-level relationship weakened in 2023, however, suggesting that the cyclical gains in prime-age LFP are winding down.
FRBSF Economic Letter , Volume 2024 , Issue 03 , Pages 6