Why Americans not work? Retirement are a large chunk.

 

“I think many economists and forecasters in 2021 continually predicted that, this month, people would suddenly explode back into the labor force, whether it’s because of vaccines, or the summer, or schools reopening,” Glassdoor’s Zhao said. “That just fundamentally has not happened.”

Retirements explain a large chunk of the missing workers. For some, soaring retirement accounts and home values, combined with the lower expenses of a simplified work-from-home lifestyle, made it financially feasible to retire early. Others retired solely on Social Security, without retirement accounts to ease the way.

A Washington Post analysis found that over 1.5 million more people were retired in November 2021 than would have been expected based on pre-pandemic trends. Employment has actually declined in the last year among workers who were 55 or older at the start of the pandemic.

Fowers A, Andrew Van Dam. The most unusual job market in modern American history, explained. Washington Post. Published December 29, 2021. Accessed January 5, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/29/job-market-2021/

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