Employment Rates

Economy & Inflation
Written By Tamika Turner

The March 2022 employment rate of 60.1% is 1.1 percentage points below Feb 2020. Disparate access to jobs has narrowed recently.

The March 2022 employment rates for both men and women are 1.2 percentage points below February 2020 levels.

Employment rate by race/ethnicity, U.S.

Jan 2008 - Mar 2022

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 16 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.

As jobs increase, the employment rate has inched up to 60.1% but remained below its February 2020 level before the pandemic hit. The employment rate for Black adults was lowest at 58.3%.

While many employers report difficulty finding workers, the number of total jobs has still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Instead, workers are quitting at record levels. A record number of people have retired since Covid hit — well beyond the number projected as the baby boomers age.1 In addition, some 1.1 million parents were unable to look for a job in March because of lack of childcare and low-income households have been more likely to experience childcare disruptions during Covid (Child Care Disruptions).2 Additionally, long Covid may be taking a significant bite out of the workforce.

Long Covid is estimated to affect 10%-30% of all Covid-19 patients and can be debilitating (Long Covid). A recent study concluded that, of the 100 million working-age Americans who have contracted Covid, about one-fourth to one-third experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and “brain fog” for months after infection.3,4 With some of these adults out of work and others reducing work hours, an estimated 1.6 million full-time equivalent workers may be out of the workforce any given month due to long Covid. This would account for 15% of the 10.6 million unfilled jobs in December.5

Employment rate by gender, U.S.

Jan 2008 - Mar 2022

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 20 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.

The employment rate for women inched up to 56.2% in March 2022, while the employment rate for men stayed at 68.1%. Overall, both men and women are 1.2 percentage points below their respective (February 2020) pre-pandemic levels. Employment rates for women remain about 12 points below that for men.

Child care and elder care remain significant impediments to women’s ability to return to work. In March, nearly 1 million parents left a job, another 355,000 lost a job, and 1.1 million didn’t look for a job because of child care disruptions (Child Care Disruptions). And mothers of children under 6 have been most likely to consider leaving their job or cutting back on hours.1 An estimated 2.4 million “excess” retirements occurred between the beginning of the pandemic and August 2021.2 Many of these are women who may have retired early due to in-home elder care responsibilities or fear of Covid.3,4

Women are more likely to be affected by long Covid (which can include shortness of breath, fatigue, brain fog months after infection), and long Covid accounts for an estimated 1.6 million adults out of the workforce each month (Long Covid).5,6

  1. “The COVID Retirement Boom”. Castro. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. October, 2021. https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/economic-synopses/2021/10/15/the-covid-retirement-boom 

  2. “Covid-19 Pulse Survey Data”. Health Resources & Services Administration. https://mchb.hrsa.gov/covid-19/data

  3. “Studies show long-haul COVID-19 afflicts 1 in 4 COVID-19 patients, regardless of severity”. UCDavis Health. March, 2021. https://health.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/news/headlines/studies-show-long-haul-covid-19-afflicts-1-in-4-covid-19-patients-regardless-of-severity/2021/03

  4. “Female gender is associated with long COVID syndrome: a prospective cohort study”. Bai, Tomasoni, Falcinella, Barbanotti, Castoldi, Mulè, Augello, Mondatore, Allegrini, Cona, Tesoro, Tagliaferri, Viganò, Suardi, Tincati, Beringheli, Varisco, Battistini, Piscopo, Vegni, Tavelli, Terzoni, Marchetti, and Monforte. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34763058/

  5. “Is ‘long Covid’ worsening the labor shortage?” Bach. Brookings. January, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/research/is-long-covid-worsening-the-labor-shortage/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=200588850&utm_source=hs_email 

  6. "Mothers are being left behind in the economic recovery from COVID-19”. Bauer. Brookings. May, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/05/06/mothers-are-being-left-behind-in-the-economic-recovery-from-covid-19/

  7. “The COVID Retirement Boom”. Castro. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. October, 2021. https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/economic-synopses/2021/10/15/the-covid-retirement-boom 

  8. “The Great Retirement: Who Are the Retirees?” Rodgers III, Ricketts. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. January, 2022. https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2022/january/great-retirement-who-are-retirees 

  9. “Demand for In-Home Care Rises During Coronavirus”. Ansberry. The Wall Street Journal. April, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/demand-for-in-home-care-rises-during-coronavirus-11588003076

  10. “Long COVID: The Impact on Women and Ongoing Research”. Chinnappan. Society for Women’s Health Research. March, 2021. https://swhr.org/long-covid-the-impact-on-women-and-ongoing-research/

  11. “Is ‘long Covid’ worsening the labor shortage?” Bach. Brookings. January, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/research/is-long-covid-worsening-the-labor-shortage/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=200588850&utm_source=hs_email

Tamika Turner
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