> A more intriguing possibility concerns the labour force. According to our estimates the rich world is “missing” 10m workers, or roughly 1.5% of the total workforce, relative to pre-pandemic trends (see chart 3). In Britain and Italy the workforce has actually shrunk. Early retirements and an increasingly elderly population explain some of the deficit. Covid may have pushed people to reassess their priorities, prompting them to drop out. Some even speculate that long covid is forcing people to stay on the economic sidelines. Whatever the explanation, falling participation has wreaked havoc with companies’ plans. Many fired staff when the pandemic struck, only to struggle to rehire them in 2021. That year vacancies across the oecd hit an all-time high of 30m.
Why not ask them?