The United States is near full employment. Right now, the unemployment rate sits at 4.2%, but those numbers can be deceiving. Famed labor economist Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt joined The Drew Mariani Show to explain why.

“We have a very serious problem with un-working prime-age men,” Eberstadt told Drew. That group refers to men aged 25-54, “who were the sort of traditional historic backbone of the workforce,” Eberstadt said.

The prime-aged group consists of about 60 million Americans, 7 million of which have dropped out of the workforce. “That’s pretty troubling,” Eberstadt said. But even more troubling is that many of these men have dropped out of society altogether. They’re “not getting out of the house much,” Eberstadt explained, and they’re spending a lot of their time on screens. On top of that, “half of these guys say that they’re taking pain medication every day.”

Not Only Men

While this issue predominantly affects men, it’s not exclusive to men. “There are about 3.5 million women…who are neither working, nor looking for work, have no kids at home, and no husband present,” Eberstat explained. “This group has been growing exponentially.”

Start Working Young

Eberstadt emphasizes the importance of summer jobs. “60 percent of 15 to 17-year-olds used to have summer jobs in the ‘70s; now it’s down to 20% or less” he said. Getting good job skills young can make the transition to full-time employment smoother, “If your first collision with the workforce is when you’re in your mid-20s, you’re going to have a lot more trouble with attitude adjustment.”

Catholic Church

The Church teaches that work dignifies the human person. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature” (CCC 2428). Additionally, work allows man to provide for his family and serve the community (2428).

Work, however, is also a duty. Man, the Catechism teaches, is “called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another” (2247).

Because work is an essential part of man’s flourishing, it’s lack can have deleterious effects. Eberstadt notes there are several consequences of leaving the workforce, including, “loss of self esteem” and “the loss of meaning and fulfillment that work brings.”

Solutions

To bring men, back into the workforce Eberstadt recommends removing work “disincentives” in welfare programs and addressing the “challenge of bringing convicts and felons back into our economy.”