An estimated 1.5 million retirees have reentered the U.S. labor market over the past year, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed. That means the economy has made up most of the extra losses of retirees since February 2020, a Washington Post analysis shows.

Many retirees are being pulled back to jobs by a combination of diminishing covid concerns and more flexible work arrangements at a time when employers are desperate for workers. In some cases, workers say rising costs — and the inability to keep up while on a fixed income — are factoring heavily into their decisions as well…

Jerry Munoz recently returned to full-time work at a pharmaceutical company in San Diego after a decade of retirement. He’d gotten antsy staying home during the pandemic and said he felt safe going back into the office after receiving the coronavirus vaccine and booster. The extra pay from his new position as a safety consultant has been helpful, too: He and his wife recently bought an investment home with the mone