Analysis: As expected, fewer job losses in states with fewer coronavirus restrictions

[Geee]

The Center Square

(The Center Square) – States with fewer restrictions are doing better economically than states that put in place more stringent lockdowns to slow the spread COVID-19, according to an analysis of jobs data by 50economy.org.

Comparisons of total jobs in U.S. states between May 2020 and May 2019 show Utah (-4.8 percent), Arizona (-5.7), Idaho (-5.9), Arkansas (-7.1), Nebraska (-7.1) and Texas (-7.2) shed the fewest jobs year-over-year, the analysis shows. All of these states have Republican governors who took less aggressive approaches to restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Texas and Arizona are among a handful of states that have seen spikes in new cases.

 

Hawaii (-20.1), Michigan (-19.2), New York (-18.3), Nevada (-17.3), Vermont (-17.1), New Jersey (-16.5) and Massachusetts (-16.4) shed the most jobs, year-over-year. All of these states but Vermont and Massachusetts have Democratic governors and many put in place some of the strictest lockdowns in place.

 

"You can see in the rankings that red states/less severe shutdown states are outperforming blue states/more severe shutdowns," Michael Lucci, president and publisher of 50economy.org, told The Center Square in an email, noting that the data is from May but he expects the trends to hold. "Michigan and New York are performing particularly poorly. The entire northeast corridor lags, as we would expect with the shutdowns and virus impact."

[Geee]

Report on Wisconsin coronavirus economy: Some jobs won't come back

– Some of the jobs lost to Wisconsin's coronavirus shutdown will not come back. 

The state's economic development office, the WEDC, sent a report to lawmakers that outlines the economic impact of the coronavirus. 

"Although this report can only capture a snapshot in time and further monitoring will be required to fully understand and refine recommendations, several clear themes were identified that clearly have the potential to shape Wisconsin’s recovery," the report states. 

 

WEDC found:

• Tourism, retail and service businesses are still closed, are open in voluntary limited capacity or are struggling for customers. Most have seen substantial declines in their business and are unsure of their long-term prospects.
• Agriculture and food and beverage, which have been identified as essential businesses, are seeking to anticipate the markets and manage disruptions to the supply chain.
• Manufacturing and construction saw less immediate disruption but anticipate the long-term economic impact with slower consumer spending and overall activity as well as declining capital investment.
• Forest products have had perhaps the starkest divide, with consumer paper goods at record highs while the decline in printed advertising has seriously impacted the catalog and magazine industry.
• Education and health care – both huge economic engines in their own right – have also been disrupted or nearly brought to a halt by the pandemic.

"If anything, this report reflects the complexity of a crisis that hits every person, every region, every economy in our state and beyond our borders," WEDC CEO Missy Hughes wrote in the report.