"No doubt the pandemic has accelerated changes that were already under way. (The shift toward remote work is a good example.) But there is also mounting evidence that the pandemic is triggering changes that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

This is a rational response. Americans 65 and above account for three-quarters of the nearly 800,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19, dying at 14 times the rate of younger Americans. If the U.S. had made it closer to universal vaccination and mask-wearing in public spaces, fewer elderly Americans probably would have left the workforce. But that isn’t what happened.

Some younger workers have also made the decision to stay home, even if remote work isn’t an option for them. Some worry about catching Covid-19. Others fear passing it on to their children or elderly relatives.

Extended time away from the paid workforce has long-term consequences. Economists focus on skills growing rusty. But there is anecdotal evidence that deeper changes are also under way. Parents of young children are re-evaluating the balance between work and family, and some have decided that the quality-of-life benefits of remaining at home exceed the costs of lower household income.

All of this suggests it will be a long time (if ever) before the labor-force participation rate reaches its 2020 levels. If so, standard calculations about slack in the labor market are misleading. Although there are 2.4 million fewer people in the labor force than there were before the pandemic, we may be much closer to full employment than many economists believed a few months ago."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-covid-changed-the-american-workforce-participation-remote-benefits-welfare-inflation-11639496874?

Tons of ink has spent on how economic growth in China would be dragged down by its demography. The Covid pandemic hit China first and then the rest of the world. China successfully shield its population from the virus. The US not as successful. And its labor force takes a big hit.

As is, many in the US are predicting stagflation 2.0. That is, inflation and recession at the same time.