January 2025 is the fifth consecutive January with full time employment not as good as in January 2020 when 49.85% of civilian population usually worked full time

January 2020: 49.85%

January 2021: 47.42%

January 2022: 49.29%

January 2023: 49.32%

January 2024: 49.16%

January 2025: 49.22%

 

Peak Baby Boomers worked when they were teenagers, at 2.07% of population, still the peak, today at just 0.78% of population

Get a haircut and get a real job
Clean your act up and don't be a slob
Get it together like your big brother Bob
Why don't you, get a haircut and get a real job?

-- George Thorogood, 1993

 

It's not a perfect one to one comparison, let alone an actual measurement, but about 20% of teenagers worked in 1979, and not quite 12% today:

Full time employment as a percentage of population fell to 49.33% in December 2024 and 49.65% for full year 2024

 It's been a five month slide in 2024 from the peak of 50.26% in July.

Peak annual for this cycle was in 2023 at 50.21%.

The Trump I annual peak was in 2019 at 50.38%.

Previous to that, full time as a percentage of population peaked in 2006 under Bush 43 at 52.3%, and the mother of all peaks was under Bill Clinton in the year 2000 at 53.55%.

Somebody needs to fix this. 

I don't think it will be Trump II.

Sad!

 

49.33% December 2024

49.65% Full Year 2024