By Gavin Boyle
Mike Rowe raised concerns over the fact that 7 million men in their prime have stopped looking for jobs and shared what that means for the future of America.
“The stat that sticks with me and worries me today is 7.2 million able-bodied men, today in their prime working years, are not only unemployed…[They’re] officially not even looking,” Mike Rowe told the non-profit Moms For America.
“That, to me, is one of the greatest alarm bells going on in the country,” he added when speaking with Fox Business. “We’ve never seen that before, not in peacetime anyway.”
While there are a variety of factors causing this troubling statistic, Rowe believes the most prominent issue is that everyone is being pushed down the same, very expensive path. Culture paints college as the only viable option for kids graduating high school, but Rowe is a strong advocate for them to consider trade schools as well.
“[College is] more expensive than it’s ever been, but it’s also more expensive than health care. It’s more expensive than real estate. It’s more expensive than energy,” Rowe said in 2023. “Never in the history of Western civilization has a thing become more exponentially expensive faster than the cost of a four-year degree. That’s fact. If that doesn’t make you angry, then I don’t know what [will]. It’s bananas.”
To encourage the younger generation to consider alternative paths, Rowe created his mikeroweWORKS foundation which has given out millions of dollars in scholarships to help fund kids who attend trade schools.
“My goal with mikeroweWORKS is not to help the maximum number of people. It is to help a number of people who comport with our view of the world and are willing to go where the work is,” Rowe told Fox Business. “[People] who are willing to demonstrate something that looks a lot like work ethic here in 2025.”
Related: Mike Rowe Announces High School Curriculum Focused on Work Ethic
Rowe is baffled how as over 7 million men have given up on a job search, more than enough positions are available if people would just be willing to work in sectors that society doesn’t usually recognize.
“Millions of able-bodied people are choosing not to work, and eleven and a half million positions remain open – most of which don’t require a four-year degree,” he said.
Hopefully our society will begin following Rowe’s lead and give young people the freedom to choose their future, rather than force them down a path that leads to crippling debt many cannot afford to pay off.
Read Next: Mike Rowe Awards 200 Scholarships to Vocational School Students
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