# US labor force participation by president, 1980–2026

Source page: https://govargus.com/indicators/labor-participation

Share of the civilian population aged 16+ that is working or looking for work. Strongly shaped by demographics (baby-boomer retirement), not just policy.

Latest: 61.8% (Sep 2026).
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED CIVPART (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/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

Each row is the value at the last full period before inauguration and at the end of the term, with the yearly rate of change, next to the rate of change over the four years before the term (the trend it inherited). A term's first year mostly reflects the previous administration's policies, and Congress, the Federal Reserve and the world economy move these numbers too. Govargus describes; it does not score presidents.

| President | Term | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Donald Trump (2nd term) | 2025–present | 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 |

## Events that bear on this indicator

- Aug 22, 1996, law: Welfare reform (PRWORA). Replaces AFDC with time-limited TANF block grants and adds work requirements.
- Mar 11, 2020, shock: COVID-19 declared a pandemic. Lockdowns push unemployment to 14.8% in April 2020.