Non Unique - Pandemic lowered employment already

Gregory’s analysis of the pandemic recession reveals that workers who were unlikely to be reemployed within a year after leaving the labor force after a job loss were retired, had children 12 years or younger at home, were female, and/or had less education. The workers most likely to be reemployed who had not left the labor force, however, tended not to have children 12 years and younger, were female, were highly educated, and had left their old job voluntarily. While eating and drinking places gained 1.3 million jobs during the first seven months of 2021, the industry is still 1 million jobs short from reaching its pre-pandemic level of 12.3 million, according to the National Restaurant Association. In August, however, the industry lost over 40,000 jobs for the first time this year due to an uptick in coronavirus cases, keeping the labor shortage top of mind. Without enough workers, many restaurants have reduced operating hours and rely on overburdened staff who face stronger diner demand. Many operators continue to pin the labor crisis on higher unemployment benefits offered during the pandemic, but a closer look at several labor reports released in the past few weeks show the situation is much more complicated.