Labor Force Participation vs Federal Debt
Explanation
MacroThis chart places the share of Americans working or looking for work (Labor Force Participation, monthly) alongside Federal Debt as a percent of GDP (quarterly, axis inverted so rising debt travels downward), with US recessions shaded, an optional Debt per Participant line (federal debt ÷ labor force), and the NYSE Composite for context. The relationship isn't one trend — debt and participation moved together from 1966 to 1981, then in opposite directions for fourteen years through 1995, before debt tracking down again into 2000. Only since 2000 have the two lines actually tracked each other, as participation rolled over (mostly an ageing population — participation among 25-54 year-olds sits near its record high) while debt climbed to a 2020 peak of 132.7% of GDP (driven by rising spending, not falling revenue, which has held near 16-20% of GDP for six decades).
Switch on Debt per Participant to collapse both headline lines into one figure: the federal debt carried by each person in the labor force. It captures both movements at once, because the numerator has grown far faster than the denominator.
Methodology note: Source: FRED, St. Louis Fed. Series CIVPART, GFDEGDQ188S, USREC, GFDEBTN, CLF16OV, SPASTT01USM661N. Published on a monthly and quarterly lag; figures are historical and not a guide to future outcomes. The equity line is the NYSE Composite, not the S&P 500, and will not match S&P figures — it excludes NASDAQ-listed companies, so it omits the large technology names behind much of the S&P's recent gains.
How many Americans are working against how much the federal government owes, from 1966 on.