Young men are dropping out of the labor force

In the past fifty years, the share of men ages 25 to 40 who are not in the labor force—neither working nor looking for work—has more than doubled, rising from 5% to 11%. Men without college degrees have been hardest hit; over this time period, the share not in the labor force increased 165%, compared to a 79% increase among college educated young men. Family breakdown is not least among the reasons for this exit from work. Young men from non-intact families are 36% less likely to hold down a full-time job by the time they hit their mid-twenties.

by Grant Bailey