A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 are less likely to look for work due to COVID-19.
In October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 9.1% of people between the 25 and 54 did not look for work due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. When it came to younger people in the U.S. workforce, only 4.8% of people 16 to 24 were hindered by the pandemic when it came to looking for work, the bureau said.
“In October, 7.9% of people who were not in the labor force but wanted to work were prevented from looking for a job because of the COVID-19 pandemic," the Bureau reported. "This was down from 52.6% in May 2020, the first month these data were collected."
While people between 25 and 54 were the majority, the report also found that 8.6% of older people 55 and older did not look for work because of the pandemic.
These numbers, in total, are the lowest numbers recorded since the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020, where 57.6% of people between 25 and 54 were not looking for work due to COVID-19. In total, across age demographics, that number has decreased from 52.6% in May 2020 to 7.9% in October 2021.
The report also found that women were more likely than men to want a job, but they feel hindered from looking due to conditions amid the pandemic. In general, for all ages and genders, the portion of people who sought work but have been prevented from doing so by the pandemic is significantly lower than the numbers reported in May 2020.
