Long Covid, a post covid illness that results from Covid 19 infection is keeping people out of their jobs, decreasing the overall on-the-job employee productivity, and therefore leading to the labor shortage. From the statistics, the article tells us that almost 30% of people who suffered from Covid developed long-haul covid, and 18% of people who developed long-haul covid didn't get back to their jobs for more than a year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 1.7 open jobs for every unemployed worker. In December, the labor force participation rate was 62.3%. The NYSIF report looks at 89,107 workers' compensation claims made between January 2020 and March 2022. The insurer approved 3,139 Covid-19 claims, 977 of which involved long Covid as defined by certain criteria.
The report suggests that the statistical evidence can give us sufficient information about the current state of the labor market, and specifically the underrated reason for so many vacant jobs and decreasing LFPR since Covid-19. According to Long Covid research, the illness played an unnoticed role in these broad pandemic-era labor trends, which likely contributed to inflationary pressures in the US economy.
Gophi Sad Goda, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research states that Long Covid has taken people out of the labor force at roughly the same rate as annual baby boomer retirements.
Article Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/30/long-covid-has-underappreciated-role-in-labor-gap-study.html
2 comments:
It will be interesting to see how individuals in the labor market have been affected specifically by Long Covid. With many jobs having a remote or hybrid option, I wonder how this will affect the overall labor market. I think this has had an impact on individuals willingness to return to work, and their willingness to work at places without remote and hybrid options.
I didn't realize how significant long-haul COVID-19 was to the labor market.
I do estimate though, that many people entered retirement rather than returning to work. Women, on average, take a significantly longer time to return to the labor force after leaving. Considering the number of mothers who were forced to leave the labor force in order to take care of children who could no longer go to daycare, given the slow return to the labor force, this will put further pressure on the already tight labor market.
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