From the New York Times, this comment on the pandemic:
...But the speed with which the pandemic has driven workers from the labor force has had devastating effects that could leave lasting damage.
The labor force participation rate among those 16 or older has dropped to about 61 percent from 63 percent in February 2020. Among prime age workers — those 25 to 54 — it has declined to 81 percent from 83 percent.
Women in their prime working years have quit the labor force at nearly twice the rate of men, according to research by Wells Fargo, partly because more women work in industries like leisure and hospitality that are less suited to social distancing and partly because women are more likely to bear the burden of child care. The share of Black women who have left the labor force is more than twice the share of white men.
Then there are the many people who may be seeking a job but who are unavailable to take one because of health concerns, illness or caretaking obligations, putting them in what economists say is something of a gray area — between being unemployed and not in the labor force — that has become more common during the pandemic.
It would be interesting to know the labor force participation rate for chemists, and if it is higher or lower for other college degree holders.
Anecdotal answer to your question: I work for a CMO and we had a hiring surge last year, in all departments (QA, QC, Production, BD, PM, etc.), but mostly in Production, and hired a LOT of BS/MS chemists.
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