'Prime-age' Americans in workforce rise to 25-year high as jobs picture darkens

The share of "prime-age" American workers in the labor force has climbed to the highest level in nearly 25 years, while participation rates for older and younger workers continue to stagnate below pre-pandemic levels.

The labor force participation rate for prime-age workers, those between the ages of 25 and 54, climbed to 84.1% in January, up 60 basis points from a year earlier and matching its highest point since March 2001.

The data, included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' January jobs report, showed that prime-age workers are either employed or actively seeking employment at rates well above pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, for example, the labor force participation rate for this group averaged 82.5%, compared to 83.6% in 2025. Meanwhile, the participation rate for workers 55 years and older was 37.9%, matching its lowest point since 2006. The participation rate for workers between the ages of 20 and 24 fell to 71.3%, about 150 basis points off its pre-pandemic level.

The divergence in the metrics of those working and seeking work comes as the domestic jobs market continues to gradually weaken. Companies have slowed hiring but generally have not ramped up layoffs or firings.

"I think we are still feeling the echoes of the rapid labor market recovery post-2020, which drew people into the labor market," said Preston Mui, a senior economist at Employ America.

Prime-age workers in 'sweet spot'

The overall labor force participation rate was 62.5% in January, compared to 63.1% in January 2019.

The prime-age employment-to-population ratio, which measures the percentage of 25-to-54 year olds who are currently employed, reached 80.9% in January, matching its highest level since 2001.

"It's a little puzzling because of other labor market weakness," said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "Perhaps there's a demographic angle because young adults are facing much higher unemployment."

With the total supply of workers becoming more constrained, the prime-age demographic appears to be rising in importance for the overall market, said George Pearkes, a macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group.

"As older workers retire and given immigration impacts, [prime-age workers] are in a sweet spot with experience and availability," Pearkes said. "They're not as impacted by low hiring rates that are keeping younger workers less employed."

Stricter immigration enforcement could be playing a role in the rise of labor force participation, but that likely will not be known until the government updates its population benchmarks in March, said Michael Madowitz, principal economist at the The Roosevelt Institute.

"It looks like a mix of push and pull factors," Madowitz said.

Prime-age workers are also feeling more credit card and student loan debt than they were a year ago, and employers' reluctance to hire is keeping many of them in their jobs, Madowitz said.

"Those with jobs are saying the grass is green enough where they are, so some of this could just be down to less job shuffling as well," Madowitz said.

Unemployment for prime-age workers was 3.7% in January, unchanged from December 2025 and still below the overall unemployment rate of 4.3%. Overall unemployment was down about 20 basis points from the prior month, but the government's annual benchmark revisions to jobs data lowered job growth estimates for 2025. Instead of 584,000 jobs created in 2025, the BLS now estimates there were only 181,000.

Prime-age workers remain "engaged" with the labor market despite signs of weakening, said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor.

"The job market has slowed and unemployment has increased modestly, but it hasn't deteriorated enough to discourage workers into giving up their job search entirely," Zhao said.