I often hear that Americans are less willing to work than they used to be, pointing to a participation rate that has fallen about five points since 2000.

Line chart comparing the actual U.S. labor force participation rate (teal, falling from about 67% in 2000 to about 62% in 2026) with a counterfactual that holds the age distribution of the population fixed at its year-2000 mix while each age group participates at its actual current rate (gold, roughly flat near 67%), from 1990 to 2026. The two lines coincide through the 1990s and diverge only after 2000, showing that population aging accounts for nearly the entire decline.

The teal line shows that decline, from a peak near 67% to about 62% today. The gold line asks a different question: what would participation have done if the age distribution of the population had simply stayed at its 2000 mix, with each age group participating as it actually does now? Almost nothing—it sits near 67% throughout. Nearly the entire drop is the baby-boom cohorts aging into their retirement years, not a generation stepping back from work.