ECONOMY

‘Unretirement’ is becoming a hot new trend in the sizzling U.S. labor market

PUBLISHED THU, MAY 5 2022 3:43 PM EDT | UPDATED THU, MAY 5 2022 4:32 PM EDT

Jeff Cox
@JEFF.COX.7528
@JEFFCOXCNBCCOM

KEY POINTS
• The level of workers who retired then came back a year later is running around 3.2%, just about where it was before the pandemic.
• A thriving jobs market in which workers virtually have their pick on where to go, coupled with soaring inflation and the fading of Covid fears all are contributing to the trend.

The Covid pandemic sent more than 8 million workers to the sidelines at one point, including many folks who decided it was the right time to retire as the workplace as they knew it faded out of sight.

But with a thriving jobs market in which workers virtually have their pick on where to go, coupled with soaring inflation and the fading of Covid fears, some are finding it a good time to rethink their plans and come back to the fold.

In fact, the level of workers who retired then came back a year later is running around 3.2%, just about where it was before the pandemic, after dipping to around 2% during Covid’s worst days, according to calculations from job placement site Indeed.

“The unretirement trend is emblematic of what we’re seeing in the labor market overall, which is seeing increasing labor force participation for a broad swath of workers,” said Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at Indeed.

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