Why are U.S. men dropping out of the workforce?

More men than ever are not working in their prime years and that appears to be a long-running trend.

Many men are unable to find work that makes it worth going back to the workforce when they can collect unemployment or disability payments, some feel like they don't need to work and some just can't find jobs.

More from The New York Times:

The share of prime-age men -- those 25 to 54 years old -- who are not working has more than tripled since the late 1960s, to 16 percent. More recently, since the turn of the century, the share of women without paying jobs has been rising, too. The United States, which had one of the highest employment rates among developed nations as recently as 2000, has fallen toward the bottom of the list...

The resulting absence of millions of potential workers has serious consequences not just for the men and their families but for the nation as a whole. A smaller work force is likely to lead to a slower-growing economy, and will leave a smaller share of the population to cover the cost of government, even as a larger share seeks help.

On The Daily Circuit, we dig into the numbers and discuss how this trend could change the U.S. workforce and economy.