Shifting demographics and changes in labor force participation in New York State from 2019 to 2023

This article examines how much of the change in labor force participation in New York State from 2019 to 2023 was due to changes in the age distribution of the state’s population and how much was due to changes in the participation rates of different age–sex groups. Comparing actual with fixed-weight measures of participation, the analysis reveals that an aging population put downward pressure on the state’s overall participation rate over the period. However, it also indicates that most of the changes in the overall rate were due to changes in the participation rates of age–sex groups. After falling sharply in March and April 2020, the labor force participation rate—the percentage of the working-age population (ages 16 and older) working or actively looking for work1—in both New York State (henceforth, New York) and the nation as a whole rose gradually in 2021 and 2022.