The Omicron Wave Stalled Growth and Led to High Absenteeism in the Region

Jaison Abel, Jason Bram and Richard Deitz

No 20220216b, Liberty Street Economics from Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Abstract: Even before the start of the new year, businesses in the tri-state region were hampered by supply disruptions, rising input costs, and difficulty finding adequate staff. On top of these challenges, the Omicron wave dealt another setback to the regional economy. With infections running high, many businesses were forced to deal with a combination of reduced demand from customers and renewed absenteeism among workers. Indeed, our regional business surveys indicate that economic growth stalled in early 2022 as firms continued to struggle to find workers. Moreover, employee absenteeism was reported to be nearly three times its normal level. While the path of recovery remains highly uncertain, firms generally expect conditions to improve in the months ahead and many are still adding or planning to add staff.

Keywords: absenteeism; labor shortage; business surveys (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02-16
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