AI Workforce

The Prime Years

Prime-age employment rate (25-54)

What is the current The Prime Years?

PRIME-AGE EMPLOYMENT RATE
80.2%
of adults aged 25 to 54 are employed

Prime-Age Employment Rate (25-54): 80.2% as of 2026-06, and holding steady. Source: BLS via FRED (LNS12300060).

The Prime Years at 80.2%

Tracking stable relative to recent baseline.

Source: BLS via FRED via FRED (LNS12300060) ↗
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How has The Prime Years changed over time?

CSV Chart
Most working-age adults have a job, and the share still hasn't fully healed
Employment-population ratio, ages 25-54
The Prime Years
Data: BLS via FRED (LNS12300060) Updated Jul 2026

Most affected counties

Counties with the highest labor scores in the County Distress Index.

1 Imperial County CA 100 2 Yuma County AZ 99.9 3 Dawson County NE 99.9 4 Luna County NM 99.9 5 Colusa County CA 99.8 6 Tulare County CA 99.6 7 Merced County CA 99.4 8 Starr County TX 99.4 9 Maverick County TX 99.3 10 Kern County CA 99.2
Explore all 3,144 counties →
Historical data
Monthly · BLS via FRED (LNS12300060)
Period Value YoY Change
Jun 2026 80.2% −0.5 pts
May 2026 80.8% +0.3 pts
Apr 2026 80.7% +0.0 pts
Mar 2026 80.7% +0.3 pts
Feb 2026 80.7% +0.2 pts
Jan 2026 80.8% +0.1 pts
Dec 2025 80.7% +0.2 pts
Nov 2025 80.6% +0.1 pts
Sep 2025 80.7% −0.2 pts
Aug 2025 80.7% −0.2 pts
Jul 2025 80.4% −0.5 pts
Jun 2025 80.7% +0.0 pts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Prime-Age Employment Rate (25-54)?

Prime-age employment rate (25-54)

Why does Prime-Age Employment Rate (25-54) matter for financial distress?

Prime-Age Employment Rate (25-54) is one of the indicators tracked by the American Distress Index (ADI), which measures five dimensions of U.S. household financial distress: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Changes in this indicator contribute to the overall distress picture.

Where does the Prime-Age Employment Rate (25-54) data come from?

This data comes from BLS via FRED (LNS12300060). More information: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12300060. The American Distress Index updates this indicator monthly.

Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

American Default Research · Seattle, Washington
𝕏 @

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Twice named to Puget Sound Business Journal Fast 50 for Ark Law Group. B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1992. Founded American Default Research in 2026 to fill a gap in public data that had been empty since 2013.

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from Ross →

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Why does The Prime Years matter?

The Prime Years is one of 98 live indicators tracked by American Default Research. The methodology page explains sources, update cadence, and how the index uses its published inputs.
View methodology →
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