Across the country, regardless of what they think about how the government should respond — or is responding — to the coronavirus pandemic, people are getting hit with the economic fallout. Literally millions of lost jobs mean that everyone is touched in some way, even if they're fortunate enough to escape the actual illness. But some places are being hit harder than others, and that's true not just for those falling victim to COVID-19 but for those feeling the economic effects of all those businesses closing and all the layoffs from the ones still struggling to stay in business. WalletHub has looked at the economic factors weighing on the economies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Small Business Administration, Government Technology, BroadbandNow, Pew Research Center, National Association of State Budget Officers and Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Among the factors it considered were the share of employment from small businesses; the share of workers with access to paid sick leave; and the increase in unemployment insurance claims. It also ranked them based on GDP generated by high-risk industries as a share of total state GDP. Some states, because of the industries that play the largest role in their economies, are in real trouble, while others are better cushioned against the worst economic effects. Those risky industries include:
- Accommodation and food services
- Arts
- Entertainment and recreation
- Retail trade
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
- Educational services
- Real estate, rental and leasing
- Other services not categorized
Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
