About 16 million Americans of working age have long-term Covid disease and 2-4 million are unemployed due to its ill effects, according to a new report. Report From the Brookings Institution.
Employers have complained about labor shortages throughout the pandemic, and analysis of data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which collects data from Americans through a survey on education, employment, health and housing, points to one possible cause of the labor shortage.
The report found that about 16 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 have long-standing COVID-19. Of these people, considered to be of working age, they estimate that 2 to 4 million are unemployed because of their symptoms.
Brookings estimates that there are currently 10.6 million job openings. The report estimates the dollar amount of lost wages between $170 billion and $230 billion per year.
Long Covid, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Covid-related symptoms lasting three months or more after first contracting the virus, has been shown to complex beast. It is difficult to track and study as symptoms can vary from individual to individual. Symptoms can range from digestive issues to nerve pain and fatigue.
CDC in June estimated That nearly one in five American adults with Covid-19 still has prolonged symptoms of Covid. Overall, one in every 13 adults in the United States – about 7.5% of the population – has prolonged Covid-19 disease.
Other countries have reported similar problems with the prolonged COVID-19 disease affecting employment. In a speech in May, the representative of the Bank of England attributed The workforce shrank by 440,000, largely to “increase long-term illness”.
Estimates He says the US workforce has fallen by between 3 million and 3.5 million people over the course of the pandemic.
The report indicated that addressing the prolonged impact of Covid on the workforce will necessitate policy measures such as paid sick leave and better employer facilities. More than 25% of private sector workers do not have any form of paid sick leave. Among those in the lowest 25% of earners, more than half do not receive paid sick leave. Some workers reported is being kicked out to take sick leave.
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