Overview
- June 2026 data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show 105.8 million Americans were not in the labor force after an estimated 832,000 people exited in that month, and the participation rate fell to 59 percent.
- Roughly half of those outside the labor force are retirees, about 23.3 million receive long-term illness or disability benefits, and about 5.3 million are classified as discouraged workers who stopped looking for jobs.
- Leading economist Nicholas Eberstadt says the data show a pronounced 'flight from work' among prime-age men, estimating about 7 million men ages 25–54 are out of the labor force and noting a related cohort of roughly 3.5 million nonworking women.
- Labor demand appears weak with the economy adding about 57,000 jobs in June and the Labor Department revising April and May payrolls lower, which analysts say makes workforce withdrawal harder to reverse.
- Policymakers now face tradeoffs because fragmented disability programs, rising AI disruption, and proposals like a universal basic income could change incentives for work and risk worsening social harms such as isolation and increased substance‑related deaths.