Long COVID is not only a health issue for many Granite Staters; it has a direct effect on the New Hampshire economy.
The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI) says in a new report local workers who reduced their hours due to long COVID may have lost an estimated $152.7 million in wages in 2022, while those who left the labor force entirely accounted for approximately $389.4 million in lost wages in 2022.
While the report gives a snapshot of the 2022 economic impact, Jessica Williams, NHFPI policy analyst and the report’s author, told NHBR a similar level of economic effect has remained through 2023 and 2024, given that the long COVID numbers here have remained fairly consistent year to year.
“Noting that long COVID rates have remained relatively similar throughout the pandemic, it is estimated that there is a continuous economic impact,” Williams said.
According to Dartmouth Health, the term long COVID does not necessarily mean a person is still infected with the virus. It means they are experiencing troublesome, often debilitating symptoms that last beyond 12 weeks and longer after the acute infection is over.
Also known by other terms such as Post-acute COVID syndrome (PACS), long COVID symptoms can vary from person to person, including anxiety, body aches, brain fog, depression and extreme fatigue. They can experience dizziness, stomach problems, rapid heartbeat, ringing of ears, and shortness of breath.
The NHFPI study drew data and detail from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention, the Brookings Institution, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Harvard University, the National Bureau of Economic Research and others.
“Long COVID is not just a public health concern, but an economic one,” Williams said. “The persistent impact on New Hampshire’s workforce underscores the potential benefits of policies that support affected workers, including expanded assistance for individuals with disabilities, workplace accommodations, and long-term investments in public health infrastructure. Addressing these challenges would likely help sustain economic growth and mitigate the impacts of long-COVID on the workforce.”
According to the report, long COVID affected approximately 22,400 Granite Staters’ work since the pandemic began, and 9,300 Granite Staters are still experiencing impacts in 2024.
The COVID-19 virus first emerged early in early 2020, ultimately forcing lockdowns, mandatory masking, social distancing and other measures to stem what was a highly contagious illness that, initially, affected an individual respiratory system, often with fatal consequences.
With preventive measures in place, the workplace took on a whole new look, as offices emptied and people worked from home, relying on technologies such as Zoom to stay connected to their work and clients. Some businesses shuttered entirely.
While the state’s unemployment has been consistently hovering at about 2.5%, unemployment peaked at 16% in April 2020.
Using Census Bureau data, the institute said about 57.3% of Granite Staters received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis over the course of the pandemic, which was declared at an end in May 2023.
Approximately 22,400 residents with long COVID may have had their work impacted during the three years of the pandemic. About 9,300 Granite Staters with long COVID currently may still experience impacts to their work. Of that number, approximately 5,300 have reduced their workload, while an estimated 4,000 have left the workforce altogether, significant, given the state’s low unemployment.
“With an average of only 20,000 residents unemployed and actively seeking work in 2024, long COVID’s impact on labor force participation may pose a significant challenge to New Hampshire’s economic growth and prosperity,” Williams said in her report.
While the dollar impact was narrowed to 2022, Williams said the CDC data relative to long COVID in New Hampshire has remained fairly consistent since then.
“According to some of those national estimates, about 5.9% of the working age population is still being impacted or still has long COVID, as of the most recent data. New Hampshire rates have been relatively similar to those national rates.” Williams said.
“So, using that 5.9% number, we can estimate that about 9,000 working age people in the workforce would have still had their work impacted during that time frame, about 5,000 who may have reduced their hours and about 4,000 who may still be currently out of the labor force due to long COVID,” she added.
According to Williams, interest in localizing the long COVID impact grew from a Brookings Institute study.
That study from August 2022 said that as many as 4 million American workers were likely out of work due to long COVID with lost wages approaching $200 billion a year and likely to rise. (Read that study here: https://tinyurl.com/bdfn73bj)
“Using the average U.S. wage of $1,106 per week, the estimated 3 million people out of work due to long Covid translates to $168 billion a year in lost earnings,” said the Brookings report. “This is nearly 1% of the total U.S. gross domestic product. If the true number of people out of work is closer to 4 million, that is a $230 billion cost.”
The NHFPI report makes note of how long COVID might affect other aspects of the economy.
Many workers who remain employed despite symptoms could contribute to lower productivity and may create additional hidden costs for employers and the broader economy, it said, and caregivers who leave the workforce to support family members with long COVID might further amplify the economic strain.
“While more research is underway, expanded employer accommodations, such as flexible hours and remote work, can help ensure that Granite State workers with long COVID are able to remain in the labor force and contribute to the state’s economy,” Williams said.
Here and across the country businesses have adapted to what the pandemic wrought in the workplace with flex schedules that allow employees to work at home and come into the office on certain days. Some companies still allow workers to be totally remote. Other companies — Amazon, Nike and Uber among them — are requiring workers to return to the office full time.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by Williams, approximately 16.1% of workers in New Hampshire worked from home in 2023, about 17.3% in 2022, and around 19.3% in 2021.
