St. Louis Fed, Report: Who Left the Labor Force during the Pandemic and Great Recessions? 

In a Review article published in January, St. Louis Fed economist Victoria Gregory examined which workers exited the labor force after separating from their jobs around the Great Recession or the pandemic recession. She also looked at their labor force status one year later.

“I find that in both recessions, workers who left the labor force shortly after their job loss (exiters) tended to be more female, less educated, and older. The age distribution was especially skewed older during the pandemic recession,” she wrote.

“Another key difference between the two recessions was the persistence of labor force statuses: In the aftermath of the pandemic, people who left the labor force were more likely to come back than in the Great Recession and vice versa,” she added.