Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new edition of NCCI’s Quarterly Economics Briefing, which examines the current state of the economy and the implications for workers’ comp insurance.
Key highlights from this edition included an exploration of critical issues impacting the US labor market and the impact of the pandemic on the rate of job seeking and participation in the labor force. Notable findings included that decreased labor supply is driving the tight US labor market, with about 3 million fewer people working or looking for work today than would be at the pre-pandemic rate of participation. While participation among prime-age workers from 25-64 is almost completely recovered to its pre-pandemic rate, the largest drops are for workers under age 25 and workers over 65. The share of workers remaining in the labor force past age 65 had been rising before the pandemic, and the post-pandemic drop for older workers has reversed that trend.