30 Times Bosses Wrote Up Their Workers For Absurd Reasons And Got Shamed For It Online

At the height of the pandemic, more than 120,000 businesses closed, and more than 30 million U.S. workers were unemployed. Since then, job openings have steadily increased, while unemployment has slowly declined.

Then, in 2021, employers ended up adding an unprecedented 3.8 million jobs. But at the same time, millions of Americans have left the labor force. In fact, there are more than three million fewer Americans participating in the labor force today compared to February of 2020.

Right now, the labor force participation rate is 62.1% (down from 63.3% in February 2020). And there are multiple reasons why workers are sitting out.

The U.S. Chamber surveyed unemployed people who lost their jobs during the pandemic on what is keeping them from returning to work. One in three (33%) women indicated that the need to be home and care for children or other family members has made the return to work difficult or impossible. More than a quarter (28%) of men noted that their industry was still suffering and not enough good jobs were not available to return to work.

The survey also revealed some are still concerned about COVID-19 at work, indicated that pay is too low, or said they are more focused on acquiring new skills and education before re-entering the job market.

Enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and not being able to go out and spend money during the lockdown all contributed to Americans collectively adding $4 trillion to their savings accounts since the start of 2020.

The extra few hundred dollars a week from enhanced unemployment benefits (which ended in Sept. 2021), specifically, led to 68% of claimants earning more on unemployment than they did while working.

In the Chamber's survey, 28% of women cited others in the family making enough money that working full-time is not as critical as the reason they have not re-entered the workforce.

For comparison, just 17% of men said the same. But overall, higher ncome and savings bolstered people's economic stability—allowing them to continue sitting out of the labor force.

Also, as of October 2021, the pandemic drove more than 3 million adults into early retirement. In all, the number of adults 55 and older being detached from the labor force due to retirement grew from 48.1% in Q3 of 2019 to 50.3% in Q3 2021.