Where you get that figure?
Discussion
Actually about 40% according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which turns that data over to Federal Reserve Bank
BLS report yesterday is 62.7% labor participation rate = 37.3% without work.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
FRED shows 40% for employment population rate here https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/EMRATIO
That number has never exceeded 68% in the last 75 years, and includes individuals of retirement age.
Your comment “working age” population is a bit misleading as the labor force participation rate includes 80 year olds whom live at home but I wouldn’t consider them “working age”
Thats not true. Labor Force does NOT include people who are retired/not looking for work, inmates, armed forces, correctional institutions or mental health care facilities
You’re mistaken,
The labor force participation rate is calculated as: (Labor Force ÷ Civilian Noninstitutional Population) x 100
The civilian noninstitutional population excludes the following:
active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces
people confined to, or living in, institutions or facilities such as
prisons, jails, and other correctional institutions and detention centers
residential care facilities such as skilled nursing homes
Included in the civilian noninstitutional population are citizens of foreign countries who reside in the United States but do not live on the premises of an embassy.
The civilian non institutionalized population does not exclude people not looking for work nor non institutionalized elderly/retired persons
In addition to these persons included in the denominator, active duty military are not included in the labor force, which adds a group of individuals to the numerator- ie- the idea that 37% of the working age population just isn’t is misleading