How opioid epidemic affects the U.S. economy

Ninety. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, that is how many Americans die from overdosing on opioids each day, and it appears no community or family is immune to the troubling trend. But America's opioid epidemic is not just responsible for the deaths of thousands of people each year; the crisis could be killing the U.S. economy as well.

The price tag associated with addiction to opioids, like prescription painkillers, equals around $80 billion a year in the U.S. The total comes from adding up the health care, treatment, lost productivity and incarceration costs linked to addiction. In many ways, this price is just a fraction of the overall negative economic impact being caused by the opioid epidemic.

The potential long-term effect on the labor market is even more concerning. New research from Princeton University economist Alan Krueger points to opioid addiction as a significant factor in the decrease of the labor force participation rate - the percentage of the population that is either employed or currently looking for a job - to around 63 percent.

Over the past 15 years, Krueger found in areas where more opioids are prescribed, there is a greater number of people who fall out of the workforce. Most alarming is the 20 percent decline among prime-age men - those between the ages of 25 and 54. About half of the men who took part in the study and fell into this category admitted to using painkillers.

The research points to opioid abuse as a significant factor driving the low labor force participation rate that is stifling economic growth. Millions of people are not contributing to the economy. And without enough new workers entering the job market, our economy will essentially "run out of room to grow," and the risk of a recession grows. Even those abusers of opioids who continue to be in the workforce are unlikely to be strong contributors or able to pass the drug-free requirements of many employers.

The countless challenges of the opioid epidemic are closely related to another social ill with broad economic implications: the rate of incarceration and recidivism in our country.

Millions of Americans have a criminal record of some kind, with nearly five million currently on probation or parole. While the majority of such "second chancers" are in the workforce, many are not, or they are employed well below their capacity. Worst of all, the track record of recidivism nationally shows within five years more than 76 percent of those released from incarceration are rearrested - a tragic and costly loss of human potential.

At a time when the opioid epidemic and other social ills have depleted our labor force, employment of "second chancers" offers a promising resource for the labor pool. With labor markets tight, innovative private sector companies and nonprofit organizations have made great strides in developing paths for these men and women to lead productive and meaningful lives after prison. Those employers of "second chancers" who embrace the opportunity to develop such employees to be long-term contributors to their companies report that they create exceptionally loyal and dedicated workers; done right this is good business, not charity. Nonprofits play a crucial role in preparing and screening candidates for employers, as well as offering ongoing support services as needed to these employees.

There always has been a moral imperative to help such citizens reclaim their lives whether from drug addiction or following incarceration, but today we should add the economic imperative. Assimilating these men and women into the labor force not only would extend our business expansion, but also would broaden the benefits of this growth to individuals and communities that have been painfully excluded.

• Jeff Korzenik is chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Bank in Chicago. He writes on issues of economics and public policy. The views expressed are his own. This information is provided for educational purposes only and is subject to change.