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Where Are the Workers? From Great Resignation to Quiet Quitting

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  • Dain Lee
  • Jinhyeok Park
  • Yongseok Shin

Abstract

To better understand the tight post-pandemic labor market in the US, we decompose the decline in aggregate hours worked into the extensive (fewer people working) and the intensive margin changes (workers working fewer hours). Although the pre-existing trend of lower labor force participation especially by young men without a bachelor's degree accounts for some of the decline in aggregate hours, the intensive margin accounts for more than half of the decline between 2019 and 2022. The decline in hours among workers was larger for men than women. Among men, the decline was larger for those with a bachelor's degree than those with less education, for prime-age workers than older workers, and also for those who already worked long hours and had high earnings. Workers' hours reduction can explain why the labor market is even tighter than what is expected at the current levels of unemployment and labor force participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Dain Lee & Jinhyeok Park & Yongseok Shin, 2023. "Where Are the Workers? From Great Resignation to Quiet Quitting," NBER Working Papers 30833, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30833
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sang Yoon (Tim) Lee & Minsung Park & Yongseok Shin, 2021. "Hit Harder, Recover Slower? Unequal Employment Effects of the COVID-19 Shock," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 103(4), pages 367-383, October.
    2. Hall, Robert E. & Kudlyak, Marianna, 2022. "The unemployed with jobs and without jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Sangmin Aum & Sang Yoon (Tim) Lee & Yongseok Shin, 2017. "Industrial and Occupational Employment Changes During the Great Recession," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 99(4), pages 307-317.
    4. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    5. Richard Blundell & Antoine Bozio & Guy Laroque, 2011. "Labor Supply and the Extensive Margin," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 482-486, May.
    6. Faberman, R. Jason & Mueller, Andreas I. & Şahin, Ayşegül, 2022. "Has the Willingness to Work Fallen during the Covid Pandemic?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Dasom I. Ham, 2022. "Long-Haulers and Labor Market Outcomes," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 060, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    8. Kairon Shayne D. Garcia & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2022. "The Impact of U.S. School Closures on Labor Market Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 29641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Miguel Faria-e-Castro & Samuel Jordan-Wood, 2024. "Pandemic Labor Force Participation and Net Worth Fluctuations," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 106(1), pages 40-58, January.
    2. Iris Klinker & Bas ter Weel, 2024. "Wages and employment in the Netherlands, 2017-2023," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-042/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Xiwen Bai & Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Yiliang Li & Francesco Zanetti, 2024. "The Causal Effects of Global Supply Chain Disruptions on Macroeconomic Outcomes: Evidence and Theory," Economics Series Working Papers 1033, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Klinker, Iris & ter Weel, Bas, 2024. "Wages and Employment in the Netherlands, 2017-2023," IZA Discussion Papers 17049, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Hamilton, Odessa S. & Jolles, Daniel & Lordan, Grace, 2023. "Does the Tendency for 'Quiet Quitting' Differ across Generations? Evidence from the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 16240, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Tom Günther & Ulrich C. Schneider & Fabian Stürmer-Heiber, 2023. "Working More for Less: Part-time Penalties Across the Working Hours Distribution?," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0025, Berlin School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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