Georgia’s labor market and economy are among the hardest hit by the opioid crisis. Between 1999 and 2015, the volume of prescription opioids per capita in Georgia rose 886 percent, or about 15 percent annually. This rise in opioid use in Georgia was associated with a 2.9 percentage point decline in the state’s labor force participation rate of prime-age workers, slowing annual real gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 1.2 percentage points.

Labor Force Participation

Table GA-1 contains the change in the prime-age labor force participation rate due to opioids between 1999 and 2015, and the resulting number of workers absent from the labor force as of 2015.

Table GA-1: Impact of Opioids on Prime-Age Labor Force Participation, 1999-2015

Gender	Prime-Age Labor Force Participation Rate, 1999-2015 (in percentage points)	Workers, 2015 (in thousands)
Total	-2.9	-117.8
Men	-2.5	-49.1
Women	-3.2	-68.7

The rise in opioid prescriptions from 1999 to 2015 led the labor force participation rate for both prime-age men and women to decline substantially. Opioids lowered the participation rates of prime-age men and women by 2.5 percentage points and 3.2 percentage points, respectively. For perspective, opioids decreased nationwide labor force participation rates of prime-age men and women by 1.4 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points, respectively.

The decline in the prime-age male labor force participation rate in Georgia means that in 2015 49,100 men were absent from the labor force due to opioids. The steeper decline in prime-age female labor force participation means that even more women were absent from the labor force. In 2015, opioids kept 68,700 women in Georgia out of the labor force. Together, the growth in per capita prescription opioids from 1999 to 2015 caused the total prime-age labor force participation rate in Georgia to decline by 2.9 percentage points. That translates to a loss of 117,800 workers as of 2015.

Work Hours

From 1999 to 2015, the rise in opioid dependency and resulting decline in prime-age labor force participation cumulatively cost Georgia’s economy 1.6 billion work hours. Table GA-2 contains the cumulative loss of work hours associated with Georgia’s decline in labor force participation.

Table GA-2: Impact of Opioids on Work Hours, 1999-2015

Gender	Work Hours, Cumulative 1999-2015 (in millions)
Total	-1,574
Men	-670
Women	-904

As the number of individuals absent from the labor force due to opioids grew, Georgia’s economy lost an increasing number of work hours. Between 1999 and 2015, Georgia cumulatively lost a total of 1.6 billion work hours. Since opioid dependency led more women out of the labor force than men, the majority—57 percent—of the lost work hours was attributed to Georgia’s decline in female labor force participation. Specifically, the state’s economy lost 904 million work hours due to absent female workers, and lost 670 million work hours due to absent male workers.

Real Economic Growth

The 1.6 billion lost work hours was a major drag on Georgia’s economic growth. Table GA-3 contains the cumulative reduction in real economic output due to the opioid crisis and the associated decline in the annual real GDP growth rate.

Table GA-3: Impact of Opioids on Real Economic Growth, 1999-2015 (in 2009 dollars)

Gender	Real Output, Cumulative 1999-2015 (billions)	Annual Real GDP Growth Rate, 1999-2015 (in percentage points)
Total	-$91.9	-1.2
Men	-$39.1	-0.5
Women	-$52.8	-0.7

From 1999 to 2015, the opioid-induced decline in Georgia’s labor force participation was a major cost to the state’s economy. From 1999 to 2015, Georgia’s economy cumulatively lost $91.9 billion in real economic output, which translates to the state’s annual real GDP growth rate slowing by 1.2 percentage points. To put this loss in perspective, from 1999 to 2015, Georgia’s real GDP grew 1.4 percent annually. Had opioids not drawn 117,800 prime-age workers out of the labor force, the state’s economy would have grown roughly 80 percent faster.

Since more women left the labor force due to opioids than men, the decline in female labor force participation resulted in a larger portion of the economic cost. The decline in female labor translated to a cumulative loss of $52.8 billion in real output between 1999 and 2015, slowing Georgia’s real GDP growth rate by 0.7 percentage points. The decline in male workers cost the economy $39.1 billion, which reduced the state’s real GDP growth rate by 0.5 percentage points.