Around 1970, about 95% of men ages 25 to 54 were in the labor force, meaning they either had a job or were looking for one. By 2015, that figure was about 88%, according to University of Connecticut behavioral economist Remy Levin.
Levin points to a more generous social safety net and changes in disability payments, which make it possible to get by without working.
He also cites shifting norms around how acceptable it is to not work or to live with parents.
Uncertainty about what new technology means for jobs may be shaping how young men see the payoff from looking for work.
What’s the point of pursuing a job if you think that they’re not going to exist?”
Read more via Marketplace
Women are a small but growing share of construction and installation and repair workers, and employers are adding benefits and cracking down on harassment to keep them.
Women made up about 4.4% of those workers last year, up from 2.9% a decade earlier.
Universal Technical Institute’s student body is now 8% female, four times what it was five years ago.
Mortenson began offering 12 weeks of paid leave for birth mothers in its skilled workforce in 2024, and more than 10% of that workforce is now female, up from 7% a decade ago.
Turner Construction’s senior leaders get on a call within four hours of any reported harassment incident.
Washington and Illinois have passed laws requiring nursing rooms and flexible break schedules on construction sites.
There aren’t too many careers you feel are AI-proof, and being in the skilled trades is one that isn’t going away.”
Read more via The Wall Street Journal
U.S. manufacturers have added 72,000 jobs since December, though the work looks different from past decades.
Between 2015 and 2025, manufacturers shed 244,000 production jobs, such as assemblers and machine operators.
Over the same period, they added 358,000 jobs in management and business and financial operations.
Aerospace, computers, electrical equipment and heating and cooling systems have been adding workers this year.
Swift Coat, a Phoenix maker of coated glass for satellites, plans to hire two or three people by year end, and all of the roles require an engineering degree.
Arizona State University’s school of manufacturing is training about 170 people to be equipment technicians at TSMC’s Arizona plant and plans to reach 800 next year.
There’s not a manufacturing sector that’s not starving for talent.”
