The writer of the letter “Where are all the workers?” (Nov. 28, TribLIVE) suggested Americans don’t want to work. The simple answer is that the pool of eligible workers is maxed out.

As of November 2022, the number of people employed was approximately 160 million, which is at or above pre-pandemic levels. The eligible labor force, defined as the number of people available for work, including both the employed and the unemployed, is currently around 220 million people.

This means that 72% of the eligible labor force is working. Unemployment remains historically low at 3.7%, meaning about 6 million people are unemployed. There are 10 million job openings, so even if all the unemployed were to find work, there would still be 4 million open positions.

Where are the workers? Early retirement removed 3 million people from the workforce. Loss of child care caused another 3.5 million people, mainly women, to stop working. Between 2 million and 4 million people have left the ranks of the employed because of the health effects of long covid.

So, if a line takes a little bit longer, take a deep breath. Everybody’s working hard, and you’ll have a better day.

Kathleen Ervin

Penn Township, Westmoreland County

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