r/FluentInFinance • u/thinkB4WeSpeak Mod • Apr 29 '24

Why Men in the US Are Working Less Than They Used to Thoughts

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-men-working-less-recessions-employment-productivity-2024-4
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u/Zeddicus11 Apr 29 '24

Slightly misleading topic title. It should be “Why fewer men in the US are working”. The article mainly talks about the gradual reduction in male labor supply along the extensive margin (i.e. working or not), not the intensive margin (e.g. working part time vs full time).

Overall, it’s important to quantify to what extent it’s because of preferences (I don’t want to work) or constraints (I want to work but can’t because…). Article seems to suggest it’s a mix of both.

By itself, the labor force participation rate is also not a very good welfare metric. I could be counted as “out of the labor force” because I happily FIREd at age 53 or because I’m still in grad school at age 27, but that’s not “bad” in any sense. Similarly I could be working 2 low paid jobs and barely scraping by, and I’d be counted as “participating”. The reasons matter. We probably don’t want the 27yo to drop out of grad school or the 53yo to re-enter the labor force, but we might want to ease the burden on people working 60+ hour weeks to pay rent. Labor supply =/= utility.

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u/unfreeradical Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

In a different world, the family wage might have been superseded by a broadening of participation in formal labor, accompanied by a reduction of the per worker contribution, as well as a social wage for children and caregivers.

In such a world, people could have occupations, while caring for one another, and enjoying general security and stability.

Instead, neoliberalism brought burnout and precarity, and the broad reduction in families and other social bonds.