There is no doubt that the economy is now stronger than it was four years ago. But, are people better off than they were before the pandemic? Looking at employment alone, it is clear that the quick and strong jobs recovery has meant that those workers, who were from 25 to 44 years old in early 2020 are indeed better off four years later. And, they fared better than workers in their prime earnings years at the eve of the Great Recession in 2007. Older prime age workers, those from 45 to 54 years old immediately before the pandemic saw more career stability and later movements into retirement than was the case for the same age cohorts before and during the Great Recession.
The economy and the labor market recovered remarkably quickly after the initial drop when the economy shut down in the spring of 2020. It took less than two and half year – by June 2022 — for total employment to exceed its pre-pandemic level of February 2020. Not only that. The economy has remained strong through the winter of 2024. For instance, the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 26 months. This is the longest such period in more than half a century.
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