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Opioid addiction knocking men out of U.S. workforce

Opioid addiction now at a 12-year high is one of the major reasons why men ages 25 to 54 have dropped out of the workforce.

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert | Updated on September 08, 2017
Opioid addiction — now at a 12-year high — is one of the major reasons why men ages 25 to 54 have dropped out of the workforce. (Photo: iStock)

The nearly fourfold increase in opioid prescriptions from 1999 to 2015 could account for 20 percent of the overall decline of men in the U.S. workforce during that time period, according to the report, “Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate,” by Princeton University economist Alan B. Krueger.

In 2015 alone, the opioid and prescription painkiller addiction epidemic resulted in 33,000 American deaths, particularly impacting rural areas in the Northeast, Appalachia, and the Midwest, according to the report.

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.

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