More and more retired workers are 'unretiring' as vaccination rates increase and the labor shortage boosts salaries, a report says
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- Some retired workers are returning to work as vaccination rates rise, a researcher told MarketWatch.
- Higher wages and more job opportunities are drawing retirees back in, the researcher said.
- Over 2.5% of retired workers "unretired" last month, per the researcher and US Census Bureau data.
More retirees are returning to the workforce as vaccination rates continue to rise and employers boost wages amid the labor shortage, an economic researcher told MarketWatch on Monday.
More than 2.5% of retired workers in the US went back to work in October, Nick Bunker, director of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab told MarketWatch. That was the highest figure during the pandemic so far, he said, according to his analysis of the US Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.
Demand for labor has intensified as record numbers of US workers quit their jobs, many in search of higher wages, more benefits, and better working conditions. In response, short-staffed businesses are boosting salaries to attract staff.
A broader choice of jobs and bigger paychecks are now drawing back retirees, Bunker told MarketWatch.
"Now that the labor market is stronger, more people who said they were retired are being enticed by stronger wages and more job opportunities," he said.
Higher vaccination rates in the US have also contributed to the return of retirees to the workforce, Bunker told MarketWatch. Fear of catching COVID-19 was among factors that contributed to around 3 million workers opting to take early retirement during the pandemic, MarketWatch reported.
About 195.3 million people in the US, equal to around 59% of the population, are now fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is an increase from August when CDC data showed that just over half of the US population — around 165 million people — was fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Goldman Sachs found that 5 million people left the labor force during the pandemic, according to a Friday note from the firm's researchers. Around 2.5 million of those people retired — 1.5 million of those were early retirements, the note said.
This has left huge gaps in the US workforce. Employers who are scrambling for staff have resorted to bumping up wages to attract more staff, cutting their hours, and closing their dining rooms.
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