Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this report considers how such changes have affected the U.S. labor market since 2007, examining the performance of labor market indicators like employment, unemployment, and labor force participation; changes in the types of jobs available by industry and occupation; and employment outcomes for different demographic groups. Since 2007, the labor market has been affected by factors such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009, technological innovation, and an aging labor force that have altered the mix of jobs available to U.S. workers. Labor Market Impacts of Cyclical and Structural Change

This section discusses the contribution of business cycles (notably the Great Recession) and ongoing structural change to recent labor market developments. That is, despite greater success among job seekers in securing employment (as seen in recently low unemployment rates, Figure 1 ), fewer potential workers are participating in the labor market (see declining labor force participation rates in Figure 2 ) and this has driven down employment as a share of the population. Most other labor market utilization indicators are also consistent with full employment. One measure that has shown less improvement recently is the labor force participation rate (LFPR), which experienced an unprecedented drop in the 2000s and only a relatively small recovery in the current expansion ( Figure 2 ). The Great Recession led to greater employment loss in certain industries and occupations than others, but those effects have receded as the economy returns to full employment. Declining employment in goods-producing sectors, particularly manufacturing, has been attributed to firms' adoption of labor-saving technology and, more recently, markedly increased import competition for some products. As discussed in previous sections of this report, employment has not grown in each occupation and industry at the same pace since 2007 (and in particular during the Great Recession and recovery), and this implies that employment outcomes over the past decade are likely to vary across worker groups. The employment-population ratio is a summary indicator of labor market performance because it describes concurrently the proportion of the adult population who want jobs (i.e., the labor force participation rate) and the success rate of this group in obtaining jobs (i.e., the employment rate, or the complement of the unemployment rate). The employment-population ratio declined—and had not fully recovered by 2017—for all levels of educational attainment during the recession. Sex

Continuing a long-term pattern of difference in employment, prime-age (i.e., 25 to 54 years) men were more likely to be employed than prime-age women over the 2007 to 2017 period ( Figure 10 ). While prime-age men and women had similar unemployment rates before the Great Recession and in 2018, the prime-age male unemployment rate peaked at a higher level (10.0%) than the prime-age female unemployment rate (8.1%) following the recession ( Figure 12 ). At the same time, the LFPR fell for both men and women, but labor force participation losses were larger for prime-age males. As construction and manufacturing jobs decline, some men have moved into occupations with traditionally large female representation, such as food preparation and serving, personal services jobs, health care support positions, and others. What to Expect Going Forward

Looking forward, the labor market will continue to evolve in response to cyclical and structural developments, creating future opportunities and challenges for U.S. workers. With a historically low unemployment rate, the economy can only continue adding jobs at the recent pace if proportionately more new or former workers can be brought into the labor force. In the past, construction and manufacturing employment has been more sensitive to the business cycle, and labor market recovery has been slower for certain minorities. The participation rate of young workers (aged 16 to 24) has fallen by over 10 percentage points since 1990. According to the Social Security Trustees report, annual labor force growth fell from 2.1% between 1960 and 1980 to 1.4% between 1980 and 2000 to 0.6% between 2000 and 2015. Skill-biased technological change and globalization have not prevented a return to full employment, but have sparked concerns about a "hollowing out" of middle-wage jobs, especially for less-educated workers.
The period since 2007 has been a time of significant change for labor markets. The Great Recession of 2007-2009, the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression, caused the unemployment rate to briefly reach 10%, and labor markets have subsequently experienced a long and gradual recovery. Most labor force metrics, including the unemployment rate and various other measures of labor force underutilization, have returned to levels that have historically been consistent with full employment.
Labor Force Participation
One exception is the labor force participation rate (the ratio of workers who have a job or are looking for a job to the overall adult population), which began declining before the Great Recession and has only levelled off more recently. The decline in the labor force participation rate is partly attributable to the aging of the population, particularly the retirement of the baby boomers. But even among prime-age workers (age 25-54), participation is historically low for men and has only just rebounded for women from the recession. Participation among young workers also fell sharply during the recession and has not fully rebounded. Economists disagree about whether there will be further recovery in the participation rate; without further recovery, the economy will not be able to continue adding jobs at recent rates.
Shifts in the Types of Jobs
Both the Great Recession and the continuation of longer-term structural changes have caused employment growth since 2007 to vary significantly by occupation and industry. Employment in goods-producing industries (such as manufacturing and construction) was hardest hit by the recession and had still not recovered by 2017, whereas employment has grown in 9 out of 10 service-producing industries over that period. When viewed by occupation, employment growth since 2007 has been concentrated in certain occupations with low median wages (food preparation and personal care) and high median wages (healthcare practitioners, business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and management), while the decline in employment share has been concentrated in certain middle-wage occupations (production, office and administrative support, and construction). This pattern has been referred to as the "hollowing out" or "polarization" of labor markets, and has been attributed largely to technological change and globalization.
Outcomes for Demographic Groups
Employment outcomes vary widely across demographic groups. Employment rates have been persistently lower for young workers, lower-educated workers, and black workers. In addition to changing opportunities for those workers, the Great Recession hit those groups harder, with some lasting effects. Men were more likely than women to participate in the labor force and be employed, but women's employment rates rose relative to men's over the 2000 to 2007 period. High unemployment in male-dominated industries (construction and manufacturing) and low unemployment in female-dominated industries (health care and education) contributed to relatively higher male unemployment during the recession. Although unemployment rates for both sexes ultimately recovered, men's labor force participation rates trended downward over the last 10 years while women's were largely unchanged.
Looking Forward
Going forward, policymakers face several labor market challenges, including (1) accommodating the current tightness in labor markets, while preparing for a return to recession at some point; (2) the continuing slowdown in the growth of the labor force (from 1.4% between 1980 and 2000 to 0.6% between 2000 and 2015); (3) addressing the labor market impacts of structural changes posed by technological change and globalization; and (4) a decline in labor market dynamism (e.g., fewer workers switching jobs).