U.S. Chamber Poll Reveals the Worker Shortage Crisis is Unlikely to Ease

/in , , /by

The US Chamber of Commerce polled Americans who lost their job during the pandemic and remain unemployed and found that many are not actively looking for work and may not return to the workforce for six months or more.

America is grappling with a workforce crisis that is slowing the nation’s economic recovery. There were 2.3 million fewer people in the workforce in October than there were in October 2019 before the pandemic.

According to the poll:

  • Less than half (47%) are actively and consistently looking for work, with one-in-five not looking for work at all.
  • 56% believe they can get by for more than six months before it becomes essential to return to full time work.
  • More than one-in-ten (13%) have left multiple jobs during the pandemic
  • Nearly a third (32%) of unemployed workers said they would prefer to work in a different industry for their next job