Amid a tight labor market, caring for aging parents and sick spouses is a significant factor in Americans staying away from the workforce, The Washington Post reported April 4.
Americans have left and stayed away from work for various reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them are retirements and responsibilities taking care of children.
But caring for spouses, siblings, aging parents and grandchildren is keeping millions of Americans out of work as well, according to the Post.
The newspaper cited the most recent Household Pulse Survey from the Census Bureau, showing that at least 6.6 million people who were not in the workforce in early March identified caregiving as the reason.
Additionally, the Post cited the Federal Reserve's latest Monetary Policy Report, showing that four times as many Americans are away from the workforce caring for spouses, siblings, aging parents and grandchildren than those who left the workforce to care for children during the pandemic.
In interviews with the Post, people who left the workforce to care for adult family members reported a lack of home care options as well as the risk of in-person work as contributing factors. And these challenges might keep some people from returning to work, Yulya Truskinovsky, an economics professor at Wayne State University who studies labor, aging and the economics of caregiving, told the publication.
The millions of Americans out of the workforce caring for adult family members comes amid the "Great Resignation." In February, 4.4 million Americans left their jobs. And healthcare job growth slowed in March.
Read the full Post article here.