Aging Boomers Explain Shrinking Labor Force, NY Fed Study Says
- Participation shortfall equates to 2.1 million fewer workers
- Research suggests the worker shortages could persist
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Why are there so many workers missing from the labor force? Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York say the biggest factor may be simple: Workers are just getting older.
While much attention has been paid to an increase in retirements during the pandemic, the analysis found that there wasn’t necessarily a rise in the share of people who are retired for each age group. Instead, the researchers found that more baby boomers reached retirement age during the pandemic, making age the main contributor behind the increase in retirements.