Fed Chair Powell: Opioid epidemic is 'a national crisis' hitting the economy

“We all want the U.S. economy to grow faster and be larger, and we want prosperity to be broadly shared,” Powell said. “There are people who are in their prime working years who are on opioids, and it’s a national crisis.”Powell’s comments and the Cleveland Fed study are on part with a 2018 chart from Deutsche Bank’s Torsten Slok showing that the opioid crisis appeared to be contributing to decreased labor force participation, especially in certain U.S. states.West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas saw a particularly high correlation between opioid prescriptions and lack of labor market participation, as the chart shows. [link to finance.yahoo.com (secure)]