Democracy Dies in Darkness
Economy

Why aren’t more Americans working? Fed Chair Powell says blame education and drugs, not welfare.

‘It isn’t better or more comfortable to be poor and on public benefits now, it’s actually worse than it was,’ Powell told U.S. senators this week.

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February 15, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EST
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell told Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) that government benefits aren't holding back Americans from working. (Video: The Washington Post)

The United States has a problem: The share of American adults who work is low, compared to other developed nations. Economists say this holds the nation back — the economy and wages should grow faster when more people are working.

Experts have been trying to figure out why so many adults remain on the sidelines, especially in a good economy. According to the latest Labor Department data, about 83 percent of American adults in their prime worker years (ages 25 to 54) are participating in the labor force, meaning they have a job or are actively looking for one. That’s up from a few years ago, but still below the levels of the late 1990s and way below the rates of Germany, Japan, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.