labor force

The construction labor force has already been shrinking for various reasons, he said, and now “many of these would-be workers are scared by these high-profile deportations.”

At the time, around a third of American women were employed, and women represented about a third of the labor force.

“These sweeps could take away the labor force,” Teddy Leonard said.

This could translate into reluctance to carry out studies relating to the risk of H5N1 in relation to the labor force, safety measures, ventilation, density or other factors unpopular with the current administration.

The number of women in the workforce has been growing steadily, too: Among workers ages 25-54, women’s labor force participation rate grew twice as fast as men’s in 2024, the report found.