FACT BRIEF

Are COVID-19 deaths a major cause of staff shortages in the United States?

Friday, July 2, 2021

By Dana Ford

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Although economists debate the relative importance of different factors contributing to staff shortages -- and even whether there is a widespread shortage -- it's generally agreed that the deaths caused by COVID-19 are not playing a major role.

"The 600,000 deaths due to the pandemic are tragic but are not a major part of the macroeconomic story of the labor market," says Jason Furman of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

As July 2021 began, the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. was over 595,000, according to the CDC. Of that number, more than 470,000 deaths, or nearly 80%, were among people ages 65 and up, meaning the majority of deaths happened to those who were no longer working.

Economists have raised a number of possibilities, including the lack of child care options, fears about returning to an unsafe workspace, expanded unemployment benefits and low wages.

See a full discussion of this at leadstories.com

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Centers For Disease Control Provisional Death Counts for COVID-19

Philadelphia Inquirer Without enough child care, workers can’t get back to work

CNBC Some employees say no amount of precautions will make the workplace feel safe, survey says

CNN Are unemployment benefits causing working shortages? Here's what we know.

Los Angeles Times There’s no labor shortage — just not enough good jobs

Peterson Institute for International Economics Peterson Institute for International Economics

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