Table 1.
Expected labor force participation in the US, by sex, 1900–2007
| Men | Women | Total (Men and Women) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Male XLFP |
Male XLFP holding LFP constant |
Male XLFP adjusted for hours worked |
Male XLFP/LE0 |
Male XLFP adjusted for hours/LE0 |
Female XLFP |
Female XLFP holding LFP constant |
Female XLFP/LE0 |
Total XLFP |
Total XLFP holding LFP constant |
Total XLFP adjusted for hours worked |
Total XLFP/LE0 |
Total XLFP adjusted for hours/LE0 |
| 1900 | 30.0 | 25.7 | 37.28 | 62.6% | 77.9% | 6.4 | 22.7 | 12.7% | 18.5 | 24.2 | n.a. | 37.6% | n.a. |
| 1910 | 31.3 | 27.1 | 39.96 | 62.8% | 80.2% | 7.4 | 24.1 | 13.9% | 19.8 | 25.6 | n.a. | 38.4% | n.a. |
| 1920 | 35.1 | 30.4 | 37.65 | 62.2% | 66.8% | 8.7 | 26.3 | 14.9% | 22.1 | 28.4 | n.a. | 38.5% | n.a. |
| 1933 | 36.7 | 32.3 | 40.40 | 62.0% | 68.2% | 10.0 | 28.3 | 16.0% | 23.7 | 30.3 | 29.0 | 39.0% | 47.5% |
| 1942 | 39.5 | 34.1 | 42.66 | 63.5% | 68.5% | 14.3 | 30.1 | 21.3% | 27.4 | 32.2 | 29.2 | 42.3% | 45.1% |
| 1950 | 41.3 | 35.6 | 38.22 | 63.2% | 58.4% | 16.9 | 31.3 | 23.8% | 29.1 | 33.6 | 29.0 | 42.8% | 42.5% |
| 1960 | 41.0 | 36.3 | 36.79 | 61.5% | 55.2% | 19.8 | 32.0 | 27.0% | 30.2 | 34.2 | 28.8 | 43.2% | 41.2% |
| 1970 | 39.9 | 36.4 | 34.67 | 59.5% | 51.7% | 23.1 | 32.2 | 31.0% | 31.3 | 34.4 | 28.9 | 44.2% | 40.7% |
| 1980 | 39.6 | 37.4 | n.a. | 56.6% | n.a. | 28.1 | 32.8 | 36.3% | 33.8 | 35.2 | n.a. | 45.7% | n.a. |
| 1990 | 39.1 | 37.9 | n.a. | 54.4% | n.a. | 31.8 | 33.1 | 40.3% | 35.4 | 35.6 | n.a. | 46.8% | n.a. |
| 2000 | 40.5 | 38.7 | n.a. | 54.5% | n.a. | 34.4 | 33.3 | 43.2% | 37.4 | 36.0 | n.a. | 48.6% | n.a. |
| 2007 | 39.0 | 39.0 | n.a. | 51.6% | n.a. | 33.5 | 33.5 | 41.5% | 36.3 | 36.3 | n.a. | 46.3% | n.a. |
| Change, 1900 to most recent |
9.0 | 13.3 | −2.6 | −11.0% | −26.1% | 27.1 | 10.8 | 28.8% | 17.7 | 12.0 | n.a. | 8.7% | n.a. |
Note: Expected Labor Force Participation (XLFP) is calculated as the total years an individual is expected to participate in the labor force based on period estimates of labor force participation and survival by gender and age. XLFP for a given year represents the expected number of years that an individual would be in the labor force if he or she participates at the average LFP rate for each age in that given year. LE0 is life expectancy at birth. "XLFP holding LFP constant" uses 2007 age- and sex-specific labor force participation rates, but allows survival to each age to vary as it actually did between 1900 and 2007. Sources: Author calculations based on survival data from the Human Mortality Database (1933–2007), supplemented by data for death registration states for 1900–1920; and labor force participation rates from decennial censuses (1900–1930) and the Current Population Survey (1942–2007). Adjustments for hours worked draw from Hazan (2009). See the appendix for details.