PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ A Maine Department of Labor report has found that a proportion of males considered to be in the prime of adulthood are dropping out of the state's labor force.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the report, from the department's Center for Workforce Research and Information, shows that labor force participation of men ages 25 to 54 has been declining over the past 40 years.
"Prime-age'' men who were either working or looking for jobs in Maine have decreased from nearly 95 percent in 1970 to roughly 86 percent in 2014.
The report contends that the primary reason for the shift is the decline of the manufacturing industry and the loss of middle-income jobs it created.
Officials say workforce participation among women has not decreased at the same rate.