A new look at long-term labor force projections to 2050

Abstract

Mitra Toossi is an economist in the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics. E-mail: Toossi.Mitra@bls.gov With an annual growth rate of 0.6 percent over the 2005–50 period, the labor force is projected to reach 194.8 million in 2050. Peaking at 2.6 percent during the 1970s, the growth rate of the labor force has been decreasing with the passage of each decade and is expected to continue to do so in the future. (See chart 1.) The 0.6-percent annual growth rate from 2005 to 2050 reflects a projected population of 322.6 million and a labor force participation rate of 60.4 percent in 2050. The period to 2050 will witness the baby-boom generation ascending the age ladder until the group moves out of the labor force, bringing to an end one of the major drivers of labor force growth over the post-World War II period. (See table 1.) Because labor force growth is one of the major determinants of long-term economic growth, projections of the labor force shed light on the future path of the economy and its ability to create goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics carries out medium-term, or 10-year, labor force projections every other year. Every several years, longer term projections of the labor force are carried out to elicit possible future paths of labor force growth. Several key factors are expected to continue to affect the composition and growth of the labor force in the next 50 years:

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