Aging Population Causing State’s Labor Participation Rate to Shrink

The portion of the labor force working or seeking work has fallen to less than 62 percent in 2023 from 68 percent in 1989.

Construction workers install new sidewalks in downtown Palm Springs, Calif., on July 2023. Jay Calderon/USA Today Network via Reuters

The percentage of Californians working or actively looking to do so is on the decline, with the state’s aging population primarily to blame, according to a recent report from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

“[Our] economic policy center identified labor participation, and in particular its slowdown, as a major challenge for California’s economy today and in the future,” Sarah Bohn, vice president of the policy institute, said during a virtual presentation on Feb. 27.