News Analysis States that instituted more severe COVID-19 lockdowns have put a drag on recovery in a labor market desperate for hires. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, millions of Americans left or were forced out of the labor pool due to fear of the disease or government restrictions. The majority of them have since returned, but it appears there are still millions more on the sidelines, particularly in states that have clamped down on residents more harshly, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In February 2020, before the main brunt of the first pandemic wave hit America, there were about 164.6 million people in the labor force, defined as those holding jobs and those who had looked for a job in the prior four weeks. That number dropped to a low of some 156 million in April 2020 and has since climbed back …