The Opioid Epidemic and Its Effects on the Labor Market

In recent years, deaths from opioid overdoses have soared in the Fourth Federal Reserve District states of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, exceeding the national average. At the same time, participation in the labor market has been falling. To what degree are the two trends connected? Is a declining labor force participation rate a result of opioid abuse, or is opioid abuse a result of declining economic conditions?

Join us for a presentation on what the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has learned as we seek to gain a better understanding of the opioid epidemic and, specifically, its effect on workers’ participation in the labor force. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland senior vice president Mark Schweitzer and senior policy analyst Kyle Fee will discuss their recent research on the opioid epidemic and their perspective on its effects.