There are people genuinely exiting the workforce, however. Biggest of note is those over 65 that were previously working part or full time that have decided to

There are people genuinely exiting the workforce, however. Biggest of note is those over 65 that were previously working part or full time that have decided to rely solely on retirement income.[0] You have have a lot of exits due to childcare related issues.[1] The workforce has genuinely contracted during the pandemic. [0] https://www.npr.org/2021/08/23/1028993124/these-older-workers-hadnt-planned-to-retire-so-soon-the-pandemic-sped-things-up https://www.npr.org/2021/08/23/1028993124/these-older-worker... [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-09/child-care-crisis-keeps-u-s-women-out-of-workforce-for-longer https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-09/child-car... ETA: Looking on the other side, there is likely some unknowable number of 16-18 year olds that are not entering the workforce yet, that would have pre-pandemic.