A new study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims there has been a significant decline in male workforce participation, which has dropped to 86% for working-age American men (25-54).
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According to MSN, several factors could’ve contributed to reducing workforce participation among men, including a decrease in higher education participation. Although historically, women were excluded from universities, they now outnumber men in college enrollment at roughly 60% to 40%. The unemployment rate for men without a college degree is 3.9% compared to 2.2% for those with a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, a recent Federal Reserve Bank of Boston study linked declining self-esteem to the type of jobs available. Non-college-educated men have seen their median weekly earnings drop by 17% after inflation between 1980 and 2019, while college-educated men experienced a 20% increase.
Recessions have also contributed to decreased workforce participation, and the numbers sometimes don’t recover. There is also a shift in industry work, such as factory and manufacturing jobs, which have decreased throughout the years. Plus, other industries are not meeting people’s needs, such as locations, pay, hours, and other options, as told by Yvonne Vissing, a professor at Salem State University.
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“If the jobs don’t meet people’s needs, people can’t work. It’s not that they won’t work. They can’t, given the job options, locations, tasks, hours, pay, and environments available.”
Vissing also addressed dissatisfaction with capitalist society and a rise in other careers in STEM, health, education, and administration—fields often dominated by women—which further added to the decline of male participation.
“Many jobs are simply not satisfying. People want to work doing jobs that matter to us. We want to use our creativity and be treated with respect.”