The U.S. has millions of ‘missing’ workers—but the gap largely isn’t being caused by COVID-19, study finds

A group of office workers have a meeting in a conference room. (Credit: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images)

Lifestyle choices are having more influence on people’s working patterns than any residual effects of COVID-19, a new study has suggested.

In a research paper published Wednesday ahead of an annual conference run by the Brookings Institution thinktank, Katharine Abraham, a University of Maryland economics professor and former U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, and Lea Rendell, a University of Maryland doctoral candidate, examined how the labor force had changed since the COVID-19 pandemic.