Increased use of illicit substances, especially opioids and fentanyl, along with an increase in deaths from these drugs during the pandemic appears to account for a decline in workforce participation of between 7% - 19% out of an overall reduction of 9% - 26%. The U.S. has still not completely recovered from the decrease. According to a 2022 study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, this downturn of active employment for the prime age group of 25-54 was observed between February 2020 and June of 2021.
Increase in Pandemic Substance Use Seen in Unfilled Jobs
