Prime-Age Employment Rate
Share of 25-to-54-year-olds who are employed.
| Year | Prime-Age Employment Rate |
|---|---|
| 1948 | 63.1% |
| 1949 | 61.7% |
| 1950 | 63.4% |
| 1951 | 65.0% |
| 1952 | 65.5% |
| 1953 | 64.6% |
| 1954 | 64.0% |
| 1955 | 65.9% |
| 1956 | 65.8% |
| 1957 | 65.5% |
| 1958 | 65.1% |
| 1959 | 65.9% |
| 1960 | 65.2% |
| 1961 | 65.4% |
| 1962 | 66.0% |
| 1963 | 66.7% |
| 1964 | 67.1% |
| 1965 | 68.0% |
| 1966 | 68.9% |
| 1967 | 69.4% |
| 1968 | 69.7% |
| 1969 | 70.2% |
| 1970 | 69.0% |
| 1971 | 69.1% |
| 1972 | 69.9% |
| 1973 | 70.9% |
| 1974 | 70.0% |
| 1975 | 69.7% |
| 1976 | 70.9% |
| 1977 | 72.8% |
| 1978 | 74.2% |
| 1979 | 75.1% |
| 1980 | 74.3% |
| 1981 | 74.0% |
| 1982 | 72.8% |
| 1983 | 74.9% |
| 1984 | 76.3% |
| 1985 | 77.1% |
| 1986 | 77.8% |
| 1987 | 78.8% |
| 1988 | 79.6% |
| 1989 | 80.1% |
| 1990 | 79.0% |
| 1991 | 78.3% |
| 1992 | 78.2% |
| 1993 | 79.0% |
| 1994 | 79.8% |
| 1995 | 79.7% |
| 1996 | 80.5% |
| 1997 | 81.0% |
| 1998 | 81.3% |
| 1999 | 81.5% |
| 2000 | 81.4% |
| 2001 | 79.8% |
| 2002 | 79.0% |
| 2003 | 78.8% |
| 2004 | 78.9% |
| 2005 | 79.3% |
| 2006 | 80.1% |
| 2007 | 79.7% |
| 2008 | 77.6% |
| 2009 | 74.8% |
| 2010 | 75.0% |
| 2011 | 75.4% |
| 2012 | 76.0% |
| 2013 | 76.1% |
| 2014 | 77.1% |
| 2015 | 77.4% |
| 2016 | 78.1% |
| 2017 | 79.0% |
| 2018 | 79.5% |
| 2019 | 80.4% |
| 2020 | 76.4% |
| 2021 | 79.2% |
| 2022 | 80.2% |
| 2023 | 80.5% |
| 2024 | 80.5% |
| 2025 | 80.7% |
| 2026 | 80.2% |
Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.
Source: FRED · LNS12300060 · series · Jan 1948 to Jun 2026 · latest-revised
Refreshed Jul 31, 2026 from FRED.
Share of 25-to-54-year-olds who are employed.
Employment-population ratio for people aged 25 to 54: the share of the prime-age population that is employed.
Source: FRED · Jun 2026 · Full lesson → Learn
About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.
Read across
No single number is the economy. These measure nearby parts of it — add one to compare, or open it on its own.
- Labor Force Participation Rate The same labor question across all ages, not just 25-to-54.
- Unemployment Rate The headline rate, which counts only those looking.