Less American Men Want to Work Than Ever Before

There are multiple reasons for this, which include being stay-at-home parents. Other reasons include no longer having to financially support themselves, job availability and issues such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around 97% of men were a part of the workforce in 1950, as it was seen as the man’s responsibility to provide for his family. This meant going out to work to earn the money needed to look after their wants and needs.

While 97% of men were working in 1950, with 96% being between the ages of 25 and 54 in full-time or part-time jobs, this number has moved down to 86% in recent years. This has led many to ask one question: Why?

Many jobs, especially those that offer attractive pay and benefits, often require people to have a college degree or even go to graduate school. These are something that these men simply do not have.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a similar drop to just 78%. While this rate has been able to go back up to 86% in just a matter of years, it is still nowhere near the levels of the 1950s.

This all comes down to things such as pay, especially with the rising costs of everything, job locations, tasks involved, number of hours available, the types of jobs available and the working environment.

Employers have admitted to doing this due to Gen Z’s lack of experience and education, which they feel makes them less employable. However, as they cannot get the jobs and placements that will give them this experience, this generation constantly struggles to find jobs that will give them experience, but employers do not want to give them jobs to get that experience.

This means that if a man has lost his job, regardless of the reason, he at least has this safety net of being able to rely on his wife’s or girlfriend’s income and isn’t in as much of a rush to find a new job.

Other reasons are due to looking after elderly relatives. With an ever-increasing aging population and with it being expensive to pay for care for their relatives, many men are choosing to look after them on their own to try to save money.

With the return to normal, remote working is not as much of an option as before, with many companies forcing workers back into the office. Many men who are out of work don’t want a job unless it offers remote working, which is why many are still unemployed.

This is because many men want to work in a role seen as ‘manly,’ while others simply lack the skills and education needed to work in these areas and cannot get employment in them.

Other things that can be improved include helping those wanting to find work, helping with childcare and caring for elderly relatives, offering paid leave and increasing the tax subsidies that those on low incomes receive so they have more money to live on.