Table 1.

Labor Force Participation Rates and Population Shares for Selected Demographic Groups, 1997–2017^a

	Labor force participation rate (percent)			Population share (percent)
Demographic group	1997	2007	2017, first half	1997	2007	2017, first half
Total	67.1	65.6	62.8	100.0	100.0	100.0
Men
Age 16–17	41.3	28.7	22.9	2.0	2.1	1.8
Age 18–19	63.9	55.2	47.5	1.9	1.8	1.6
Age 20–24	82.5	78.5	73.6	4.3	4.5	4.2
Age 25–34	92.9	92.2	88.9	9.6	8.2	8.5
Age 35–44	92.5	92.2	90.8	10.7	8.8	7.7
Age 45–54	89.4	88.2	86.2	8.0	9.1	8.1
Age 55–64	67.6	69.6	70.4	5.1	6.8	7.9
Age 65 and over	17.1	20.5	23.9	6.6	6.9	8.6
Women
Age 16–17	41.0	30.7	24.8	1.9	2.0	1.8
Age 18–19	61.2	53.7	47.5	1.8	1.7	1.5
Age 20–24	72.6	70.0	68.2	4.3	4.4	4.2
Age 25–34	76.0	74.4	75.3	9.9	8.5	8.7
Age 35–44	77.7	75.5	74.8	10.9	9.2	8.0
Age 45–54	76.0	76.0	74.4	8.4	9.6	8.4
Age 55–64	50.9	58.3	58.9	5.5	7.4	8.5
Age 65 and over	8.6	12.6	15.8	9.1	9.1	10.7
Aggregate of demographic groups
Σiℓi,t×wi,1997	67.1	66.5	65.6
Σiℓi,t×wi,2017	63.3	63.4	62.8

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; author’s calculations.

^aData are not seasonally adjusted, annual averages. The 2017 data are averages of data from January through June. Data for 1990 to 2016 have been adjusted to account for the effects of the annual population control adjustments to the Current Population Survey.