720,000 people left the U.S. labor force last month.
This pushes the labor force participation rate down to 61.5%, its lowest level since 1976 (outside of the pandemic).
The biggest drop came from prime-age workers, aged 25 to 54.
These are peak working and earning years.
That deserves more attention than it's getting.
Jul 10, 2026, 8:01 PMI love your posts. Short and to the point.
It would be better though if you supplied a link to sources for further reading. 🙂
Thanks! This was recent data from the Fed! (The FRED site!)
@FluentInFinance Interesting coincidence:
1976 was the year that I, having recently become jobless, took up organic vegetable farming. My half of the net profit was $60 for that year, though we did buy much more than that in tools and implements.
@FluentInFinance I haven’t had a job in months. Might never get one.
@FluentInFinance Peak earning years in a functional / rational society, yes.
Maybe one day we can have such a thing.
@FluentInFinance just finished my phd in experimental psychology in December (focusing on attitudes and behaviors around environmental issues). Still looking for work. Times are bad, but at least I have time for my vegetable garden.
@FluentInFinance the equivalent in the UK is getting lots of column inches