Hispanic men have maintained the highest labor force participation rate even as labor force participation of all men has declined since the 1970s: Men’s labor force participation rate by race and ethnicity, 1973–2021
| year | White | Black | Hispanic | Asian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 79.4% | 73.4% | 81.5% | |
| 1974 | 79.4 | 72.9 | 81.7 | |
| 1975 | 78.7 | 70.9 | 80.7 | |
| 1976 | 78.4 | 70.0 | 79.6 | |
| 1977 | 78.5 | 70.6 | 80.9 | |
| 1978 | 78.6 | 71.5 | 81.1 | |
| 1979 | 78.6 | 71.3 | 81.3 | |
| 1980 | 78.2 | 70.3 | 81.4 | |
| 1981 | 77.9 | 70.0 | 80.6 | |
| 1982 | 77.4 | 70.1 | 79.7 | |
| 1983 | 77.1 | 70.6 | 80.3 | |
| 1984 | 77.1 | 70.8 | 80.6 | |
| 1985 | 77.0 | 70.8 | 80.3 | |
| 1986 | 76.9 | 71.2 | 81.0 | |
| 1987 | 76.8 | 71.1 | 81.0 | |
| 1988 | 76.9 | 71.0 | 81.9 | |
| 1989 | 77.1 | 71.0 | 82.0 | |
| 1990 | 77.1 | 71.0 | 81.4 | |
| 1991 | 76.5 | 70.4 | 80.3 | |
| 1992 | 76.5 | 70.7 | 80.7 | |
| 1993 | 76.2 | 69.6 | 80.2 | |
| 1994 | 75.9 | 69.1 | 79.2 | |
| 1995 | 75.7 | 69.0 | 79.1 | |
| 1996 | 75.8 | 68.7 | 79.6 | |
| 1997 | 75.9 | 68.3 | 80.1 | |
| 1998 | 75.6 | 69.0 | 79.8 | |
| 1999 | 75.6 | 68.7 | 79.8 | |
| 2000 | 75.5 | 69.2 | 81.5 | 76.1 |
| 2001 | 75.1 | 68.4 | 81.0 | 76.2 |
| 2002 | 74.8 | 68.4 | 80.2 | 75.9 |
| 2003 | 74.2 | 67.3 | 80.1 | 75.6 |
| 2004 | 74.1 | 66.7 | 80.4 | 75.0 |
| 2005 | 74.1 | 67.3 | 80.1 | 74.8 |
| 2006 | 74.3 | 67.0 | 80.7 | 75.0 |
| 2007 | 74.0 | 66.8 | 80.5 | 75.1 |
| 2008 | 73.7 | 66.7 | 80.2 | 75.3 |
| 2009 | 72.8 | 65.0 | 78.8 | 74.6 |
| 2010 | 72.0 | 65.0 | 77.8 | 73.2 |
| 2011 | 71.3 | 64.2 | 76.5 | 73.2 |
| 2012 | 71.0 | 63.6 | 76.1 | 72.2 |
| 2013 | 70.5 | 63.5 | 76.3 | 73.0 |
| 2014 | 69.8 | 63.6 | 76.1 | 72.4 |
| 2015 | 69.7 | 63.8 | 76.2 | 71.4 |
| 2016 | 69.8 | 64.1 | 76.0 | 72.1 |
| 2017 | 69.5 | 64.6 | 75.8 | 71.9 |
| 2018 | 69.5 | 64.8 | 75.7 | 71.6 |
| 2019 | 69.6 | 64.8 | 75.9 | 71.8 |
| 2020 | 68.2 | 62.6 | 74.9 | 70.9 |
| 2021 | 67.9 | 63.5 | 75.4 | 71.8 |
Notes: Race/ethnicity categories are not mutually exclusive; white, Black, and Asian data do not exclude Hispanic workers of each race. Shaded areas denote recessions.
Notes: Race/ethnicity categories are not mutually exclusive; white, Black, and Asian data do not exclude Hispanic workers of each race. Shaded areas denote recessions. The labor force participation rate shows the number of people in the labor force—people who are employed or unemployed but looking for work—as a share of the number of civilian, noninstitutionalized people ages 16 and older.
Sources: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey, Labor Force Participation Rate for Men by Race and Ethnicity data series LNU01300004, LNU01300007, LNU01300010, and LNU01332301.
Sources: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey (Household Survey), Labor Force Participation for Men by Race and Ethnicity data series LNU01300004, LNU01300007, LNU01300010, and LNU01332301. Accessible via Series Report Data Retrieval Tool and https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ln/. Accessed February 2022.