Multimedia: Charts

Any replication of this chart should be credited to The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution.

Nonemployment to Population Ratios, Ages 25-54 by Gender

April 20, 2010

This graph illustrates changes in the male and female nonemployment to population ratio between 1945 and 2010, during which an increasing share of men were not working and an increasing share of women were working. The increase in male nonemployment has been particularly marked since the Great Recession began in 2007, with the male nonemployment to population ratio has jumped nearly 5 percent to 20 percent. While the change has not been nearly as dramatic as the change for men, women have seen an increase in the nonemployment to population ratio since the start of the Great Recession. (Source: Department of Labor, Labor Force Statistics Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject.)

Recent Charts

Evolution of the “Job Gap” and Possible Scenarios for Growth

April 6, 2012 • Charts

The Hamilton Project tracks the monthly “job gap,” which is the number of jobs that need to be created in order to return to pre-recession employment levels while still absorbing the workers entering the labor force each month.

Impacts of Training Program Earnings by Years After Training

November 30, 2011 • Charts

It is critical that worker training programs be rigorously evaluated so that scare training resources can be targeted toward the most effective programs.

Federal Funding for DOL Training Programs, 1985-2011

November 30, 2011 • Charts

Federal spending on job training programs by the U.S. Department of Labor has gradually fallen since the 1980s, aside from a bump in 2009 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Earnings Gains of Displaced Workers in Technical Fields versus Other Fields

November 30, 2011 • Charts

Retraining in technical fields provides higher returns for workers than retraining in non-technical classes.

Earnings of Workers Who Lost Their Job in the Great Recession

November 4, 2011 • Charts

Recent research suggests that hardship for dislocated workers extends beyond periods of unemployment. Once reemployed, workers typically earn significantly less than they did prior to job loss.

Change in Family Earnings of Children, 1975-2010

October 7, 2011 • Charts

Over the last 35 years, the opportunity gap for children whose parents are at different ends of the earnings distribution has grown. Children at the 90th percentile of the distribution of family earnings have experienced a 45 percent increase, while children at the 25th percentile have experienced a decline of over 20 percent.