Economy
Labor force participation by president
Share of the civilian population aged 16+ that is working or looking for work. Strongly shaped by demographics (baby-boomer retirement), not just policy.
61.8% latest, Sep 2026
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED CIVPART. Monthly data, fetched Oct 19, 2026.
Since 1980, labor force participation ranged from 60.1% in Apr 2020 under Donald Trump (1st term) to 67.3% in Jan 2000 under Bill Clinton. Of the 8 completed terms with data, labor force participation rose fastest under Jimmy Carter, at +0.45 pts/yr against +0.32 pts/yr in the four years before, and fell fastest under Barack Obama, at −0.39 pts/yr against −0.03 pts/yr in the four years before. So far under Donald Trump (2nd term), it has gone from 62.5% in Dec 2024 to 61.8% in Sep 2026.
By presidential term
Labor force participation, term by term: every term lined up from inauguration on one chart.
Value at the last full period before inauguration and at the end of the term, with the yearly rate of change. The second column is the rate of change over the four years before the term: the trend they inherited. Remember the lag: a term's first year mostly reflects the previous one's policies.
| President | During term | 4 years before |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump (2nd term) 2025–now | 62.5% → 61.8% −0.40 pts/yr · through Sep 2026 | +0.25 pts/yr |
| Joe Biden 2021–2025 | 61.5% → 62.5% +0.25 pts/yr | −0.30 pts/yr |
| Donald Trump (1st term) 2017–2021 | 62.7% → 61.5% −0.30 pts/yr | −0.25 pts/yr |
| Barack Obama 2009–2017 | 65.8% → 62.7% −0.39 pts/yr | −0.03 pts/yr |
| George W. Bush 2001–2009 | 67.0% → 65.8% −0.15 pts/yr | 0.00 pts/yr |
| Bill Clinton 1993–2001 | 66.3% → 67.0% +0.09 pts/yr | +0.05 pts/yr |
| George H. W. Bush 1989–1993 | 66.1% → 66.3% +0.05 pts/yr | +0.38 pts/yr |
| Ronald Reagan 1981–1989 | 63.6% → 66.1% +0.31 pts/yr | +0.45 pts/yr |
| Jimmy Carter 1977–1981 | 61.8% → 63.6% +0.45 pts/yr | +0.32 pts/yr |
More economy indicators
Events that bear on this indicator
- Mar 11, 2020 ShockCOVID-19 declared a pandemic. Lockdowns push unemployment to 14.8% in April 2020.
- Aug 22, 1996 LawWelfare reform (PRWORA). Replaces AFDC with time-limited TANF block grants and adds work requirements.