D3 · HOW MUCH OF THE WORKING-AGE COUNTRY IS IN THE GAME
Prime-age labor force participation (25-54)
83.40
STALEROBUSTDRS 95monthlyas of 2026-08-01
This tile is stale: the value shown is the last
one the source published, never a fabricated current number.
The full history
1948
high 84.60 · low 64.20 · now 83.40 · 12 recessions shaded 2026
How it is read
What it measures
how much of the working-age country is in the game
Confidence
ROBUST : a primary official series, mechanically reported.
Reliability (DRS)
DRS 95: Decade-relative by design: the full-history baseline is dominated by the secular entry of women into the workforce (1948-1990s), which would make any modern reading look high. BLS-produced.
Where it comes from
FRED ↗Every number on this site is reproducible from this primary source.
What it read at past stress points
Lehman, Sep 2008
83.10
· CALM
Q4-2018 selloff
82.30
· CALM
Curve inversion, Aug 2019
82.50
· CALM
COVID crash, Mar 2020
82.40
· CALM
Questions it helps answer
Work: Is the labor market holding, and how broadly?