Figure K1
: United States and OECD average women's prime-age labor force participation rate, 1976–2024
| Year | United States | OECD average |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 56.8% | 52.2% |
| 1977 | 58.5% | 51.8% |
| 1978 | 60.6% | 54.8% |
| 1979 | 62.3% | 54.2% |
| 1980 | 64.0% | 57.0% |
| 1981 | 65.3% | 56.3% |
| 1982 | 66.3% | 59.2% |
| 1983 | 67.1% | 58.2% |
| 1984 | 68.2% | 59.2% |
| 1985 | 69.6% | 60.3% |
| 1986 | 70.8% | 61.8% |
| 1987 | 71.9% | 62.2% |
| 1988 | 72.7% | 61.8% |
| 1989 | 73.6% | 62.8% |
| 1990 | 74.0% | 64.6% |
| 1991 | 74.1% | 65.4% |
| 1992 | 74.6% | 66.8% |
| 1993 | 74.6% | 67.3% |
| 1994 | 75.3% | 68.4% |
| 1995 | 75.6% | 69.3% |
| 1996 | 76.1% | 69.1% |
| 1997 | 76.7% | 69.6% |
| 1998 | 76.5% | 70.0% |
| 1999 | 76.8% | 70.7% |
| 2000 | 76.7% | 72.0% |
| 2001 | 76.4% | 72.1% |
| 2002 | 75.9% | 72.6% |
| 2003 | 75.6% | 73.0% |
| 2004 | 75.3% | 73.4% |
| 2005 | 75.3% | 74.0% |
| 2006 | 75.5% | 74.7% |
| 2007 | 75.4% | 74.8% |
| 2008 | 75.8% | 75.4% |
| 2009 | 75.6% | 76.2% |
| 2010 | 75.2% | 76.6% |
| 2011 | 74.7% | 76.8% |
| 2012 | 74.5% | 77.5% |
| 2013 | 73.9% | 77.7% |
| 2014 | 73.9% | 77.9% |
| 2015 | 73.7% | 78.1% |
| 2016 | 74.3% | 78.4% |
| 2017 | 75.0% | 78.7% |
| 2018 | 75.3% | 79.0% |
| 2019 | 76.0% | 79.4% |
| 2020 | 75.1% | 78.5% |
| 2021 | 75.3% | 79.6% |
| 2022 | 76.4% | 80.8% |
| 2023 | 77.4% | 81.2% |
| 2024 | 77.9% | 81.7% |
Notes: Data include the civilian non-institutional population. “Prime age” refers to ages 25 to 54. OECD countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Source: EPI analysis of OECD data.
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