1 in 3 American men are not working in nearly 20-year low — here’s what’s behind the staggering statistic

NY Post ^ | May 28, 2026 | Alex Oliveira

[Twotone]

The number of American men in the workforce are at its lowest level in two decades — with about one in three American men having stopped working as of 2026, new labor statistics show.

Just 66% of men were employed or actively seeking a job as of April, a nearly 20-year low from 73% in 2006, according to data the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released earlier this month.

The current number — covering men aged 20 and over — is almost exactly as low as it was after the 2008 recession, when rates first plummeted by seven points in about a year.

Employment rates slowly eked up across the 2010s — before being gutted during the 2020 pandemic, when just 59% of men were employed.

Rates partially recovered within two years but then began a trickling decline that’s persisted into the current lows.

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: statistics; working

[HYPOCRACY]

“But men who are no longer working because of a disability make up the majority who have left the labor force.”

Wonder what caused all these disabilities. Doctors are baffled.

[Licensed-To-Carry]

H1B visas for low level jobs are a real contributor.

[PGR88]

here’s what’s behind the staggering statistic

Lots and lots of money.

$2.5 trillion in yearly federal deficits and printed, fiat debt are supporting many tens of millions of Americans to do nothing, as well as supporting a destructive, bloated, globalist-marxist government class across the country

[Sequoyah101]

And this will only get worse as AI takes over. The outcome of meaningless lives will also get much worse. What is that you say? It is crime, anger, depression, abuse and the host of society destroying activities and states of mind common to boredom and desolation.

[Bon of Babble]

Some of it in the high-paying tech industry is b/c of this:

"H-1B Visa Surge Displaces American Tech Workers as Foreign-Born Dominate Silicon Valley"

"Two-thirds of Silicon Valley’s nearly 400,000 tech jobs are held by foreign-born workers"

"Amazon just applied for 10,781 H-1B visas. They don’t want to hire you, your kids, or your grandkids. They want to hire cheap foreign laborers from places like India, China, and Thailand."

https://californiaglobe.com/fr/h-1b-visa-surge-displaces-american-tech-workers-as-foreign-born-talent-dominates-silicon-valley/

[packagingguy]

It’s not just a problem in the US or the West.

The same is happening in China; they call it “tang ping” or “laying flat”. Basically young people who find it impossible to find jobs and they just give up.

So federal welfare is only a small part of the problem.

[Terry L Smith]

‘How many are not military veterans?”

[econjack]

But men who are no longer working because of a disability make up the majority who have left the labor force.

I'd like to see the evidence to support this statement. If a man can make "a lot more money" than $1000/mo working, why doesn't he hire someone to stay home while he works. As long as his wage is above $12.50/hr (i.e., $2000/mo) he comes out ahead.

[R_Kangel]

.... You would think a major factor to work into the stat would be the wave of Boomer men retiring and not working .....

.

[econjack]

That’s called the “Discouraged Worker Hypothesis” in labor economics—you just give up. The result is an understatement of the unemployment rate. The other major source is the “Additional Worker Hypothesis”, where unemployment of the major bread-winner induces other members of the family who would normally not work, to start looking for work. This results in an overstatement of the unemployment rate.

I often wonder what would happen to unemployment rates if all transfer payments (i.e., welfare, SNAP, rent subsidies, Medicaid, etc.) were stopped. I think we’d see a lot more people productively employed rather than sitting at home at taxpayer expense.

[drwoof]

Our elected politicians have sacrificed our nation to satisfy their pathological need for affirmation. The incredible wealth held by a few at the top who direct how politicians and our culture (what is left of it) think is the product of the delta between what they would have had to pay for their fellow Americans to work for them, and what they actually paid to foreigners. It has been incredibly destructive, and the course seems to be very definitely set. Intellectually dull, morally bankrupt ‘leaders’ have created every last bit of this.

[dfwgator]

And if you just accept that certain jobs are for certain demographics, you don’t even try to get the education for those jobs.

[sheana]

I often wonder what would happen to unemployment rates if all transfer payments (i.e., welfare, SNAP, rent subsidies, Medicaid, etc.) were stopped. I think we’d see a lot more people productively employed rather than sitting at home at taxpayer expense.

This. When you can make more staying at home why work?

[Cronos]

The article just says “20 and older”

So does that include 70 year old guys?? People are living longer

Also, at 20 I was still studying and I’m sure many men today are studying until 22 to 25

Over the last year, traditional male-heavy fields like manufacturing and transportation have shed jobs. Meanwhile, female-dominated fields like healthcare and education have boomed. Remarkably, the article notes that out of 369,000 jobs recently added to the U.S. economy, 96% went to women and only 4% went to men.

[Cronos]

from the article

Over the last year, traditional male-heavy fields like manufacturing and transportation have shed jobs. Meanwhile, female-dominated fields like healthcare and education have boomed. Remarkably, the article notes that out of 369,000 jobs recently added to the U.S. economy, 96% went to women and only 4% went to men.

[Vaduz]

Agree sounds like the Minnesota shuffle scam going on welfare and other so called safety nets.

[Delta 21]

23 years in the military did it for me.

The VA has them all annotated and explained in very boring records of my escapades while active.

[Organic Panic]

Maybe these men are learning how to play the system for endless government gibs. They see all the welfare going to illegals, minorities, fake charities, green energy scams, Somali trash, single moms, why not get some for themselves?

[econjack]

About 20 years ago, I used to listen to WGN (Chicago) while driving to work. One day an educated-sounding woman from WI called in to respond to the welfare discussion. The lady said she would love to work, but if she did, she would lose her welfare, (back then) food stamps, rent subsidy, Medicaid, and have to pay for day care. All together, she figured she would have to get a job paying almost $50,000/yr, which was not possible for her with not even a HS education. Keep in mind this was 20 years ago...probably like an $80K job today.

Our gov’t safety net is now simply too big to the point where it discourages people from working.