Covid-19 Employment Status Impacts on Food Sector Workers

40 Pages Posted: 15 Jun 2020 Last revised: 18 Nov 2021

See all articles by Seung Jin Cho

Seung Jin Cho

Korea Institute for International Economic Policy

Jun Yeong Lee

Pusan National University - Department of Economics

John V. Winters

Iowa State University - Department of Economics

Abstract

Food production and distribution is essential for human well-being, but the food sector has experienced a number of difficulties maintaining worker health and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine employment status changes of persons recently employed in the U.S. food sector with a focus on food manufacturing and grocery stores. We find that the pandemic significantly reduced the probability of continued active employment for previous workers in both food manufacturing and grocery stores.Individual-level analysis confirms that the COVID-19 infection rate in an individual's local labor market is a strong and significant factor. The employment changes are not just due to unemployment during facility closures. Previous workers increasingly exit the labor force as the severity of the COVID-19 infection rate in their local area worsens. The considerable risk of infection drives many previous food sector workers to stop working altogether. Maintaining worker health and safety is essential for a stable food supply.

Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, pandemic, food sector, employment, worker safety

JEL Classification: J2, Q1

Suggested Citation

Cho, Seung Jin and Lee, Jun Yeong and Winters, John V., Covid-19 Employment Status Impacts on Food Sector Workers. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13334, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3627034 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3627034

Seung Jin Cho (Contact Author)

Korea Institute for International Economic Policy ( email )

[30147] Building C, Sejong National Research Compl
Seoul, 370
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

Jun Yeong Lee

Pusan National University - Department of Economics ( email )

Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

John V. Winters

Iowa State University - Department of Economics ( email )

260 Heady Hall
Ames, IA 50011
United States

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