Unpacking the Labor Force Participation Gap in 2020.

The US labor force participation rate (LFPR) currently stands at 62.5%, 0.8 percentage point below its level in February 2020. Nearly all of the participation gap can be explained by population aging, which caused a significant rise in the number of retirements. Higher retirement rates compared to pre-COVID have had only a modest effect, while disability has virtually no effect. The increase in disability has no effect on the participation gap because the increase is entirely accounted for by individuals that remain in the labor force.