Bank of America economists led by Aditya Bhave say the surge in equity wealth has likely made it easier for many workers to retire, and that workers over age 55 leaving the workforce are the biggest driver behind the decline in overall labor force participation since the pandemic. Bhave wrote that this debunks a popular bearish narrative on the labor market, namely that the unemployment rate would have been higher if participation had not fallen. The benchmark S&P 500 has risen more than 30% over the past two years, and an earlier Bank of America analysis found a modest negative relationship between equity gains and older workers' participation. A separate Bank of America Institute report published on Wednesday found that while older households claim three-quarters of total US net worth, that wealth is not distributed evenly, with around 14% of people on Social Security relying on it for more than 90% of their income.
Bank of America CorpBank of America economists' analysis of equity gains driving older workers out of the labor force is the subject, but it carries no clear directional impact on the company itself.
