Workers available for jobs drop by a million

A near-one million decline in available workers during the pandemic is contributing to widespread staff shortages, research has found, as vacancies stifle the economic recovery. The Learning and Work Institute said shortages may last years after an exodus of foreign-born workers and others leaving the labour market by retiring, for example. Its findings suggest there are 900,000 fewer potential workers than if prepandemic trends had continued – 2 per cent of the working-age population.