Tuesday 707

 Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed.

PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run

Chapter 28 of 36 Unemployment

Section 5 of 21

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Figure 3 – Labor Force Participation Rates

This shows the percentage of adult men and women in the U.S. labor force.

In recent decades the percentage for women has gone up and for men has gone down.

(Figure 3a includes recent years data).

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Women's role in American society and economy has greatly changed over the past century.

Commentators have identified many causes for this change, including

· new technologies, such as the washing machine, clothes dryer and dishwasher, which have reduced the time required for household tasks

· improved birth control, reducing the number of children in the family

· changing political and social attitudes, which have been affected by the advances in technology and birth control

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Figure 3 shows labor-force participation rates of men and women in the U.S. since 1950.

In the early 1950s only 33% of women were working or looking for work, compared to 87% of men.

Since then the difference between the participation rates of men and women has gradually shrunk, as growing numbers of women have entered the labor force and men have left it.

Data for 2007 show 59% of women were in the labor force, and 73% of men.

Men and women are now playing a more equal role in the economy, as shown by labor-force participation rates.

We can easily understand the women's labor-force participation increase, but the fall in men's may puzzle some.

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There are various reasons for the decline in men’s labor-force participation, including

· young men now stay in school longer than their fathers did

· older men now retire earlier and live longer

· with more women employed, more fathers now stay home and raise children

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impact of these developments

korera dōkō no eikyō

これら動向の影響

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Gemini comments about Figure 3a:

Key Observations on the Updated Data (2007–2026)

The Convergence Stalls:

The dramatic visual narrowing of the gap between men and women that defined the 1970s, 80s, and 90s has mostly plateaued in the 21st century.

-Men's Participation:

The steady, long-term structural decline for men continued past the 2007 mark on the original chart.

It dipped from around 73% down to a historical low of 67.9% during the 2020 pandemic shock, before stabilizing near 68% by 2026.

-Women's Participation:

After peaking around 60% in the late 1990s and 2000, women's participation experienced a slight structural decline throughout the 2010s, largely due to baby boomer retirements.

It dropped to 56.2% in 2020 but has since staged a resilient recovery, hovering just above 57% through 2026.

-The 2020 Pandemic "Kink":

Both lines show a distinct, sharp downward notch in 2020.

This reflects the sudden, massive drop-off of workers leaving the labor force entirely during initial pandemic lockdowns, followed by a steady but incomplete multi-year recovery.