U.S. sees steepest decline of mothers of young children in the workforce in 40 years, study finds

More than 400,000 women left the U.S. workforce in the first half of 2025, according to a University of Kansas analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. It's the steepest decline in more than 40 years for mothers of young children, the University of Kansas found.

Economist Misty Heggeness found that child care was the main reason young mothers were leaving their jobs.

"Women are going to start backtracking and coming [out of] the labor force because it's too intense and exhausting," Heggeness told CBS News.

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