Long Covid in the U.S. is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work--

New data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work Since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic through today, news about labor shortages and missing workers has dominated headlines. The question everyone still seems to be asking is: Why?  In January … Carie Muscatello Brookings

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This June, the Census Bureau finally added four questions about long Covid to its Household Pulse Survey (HPS), giving researchers a better understanding of the condition’s prevalence. This report uses the new data to assess the labor market impact and economic burden of long Covid, and finds that: 

• Around 16 million working-age Americans (those aged 18 to 65) have long Covid today. 
• Of those, 2 to 4 million are out of work due to long Covid. 
• The annual cost of those lost wages alone is around $170 billion a year (and potentially as high as $230 billion). 

...the final section of this report identifies five critical interventions to mitigate both the economic costs and household financial impact of long Covid. ...