The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world – in some ways permanently – since it became a dominant force in February 2020. Looking at the U.S., which states have been the big winners from the shift in employment preferences of employees and which have been the losers? Here’s a look.
The Overall Employment Picture
The first view is what the employment picture looked like overall in February 2020. A little more than 2 and one-half years ago, California was by far the largest state for employment at almost 18 million. Other states that had employment above 10 million included Texas at about 13 million, New York at about 10 million, and Florida at about 9 million.
Fast forward to 2020, and the picture looks as follows. As one would expect, the picture is somewhat different. The states with the largest employment bases – California, Texas, New York, and Florida – still hover towards the top, but the difference between states is changing.
The next look is of the overall change in employment from February 2020 to August 2022. Overall, employment in Texas is up the most at about 564,000 jobs. Other top five states for employers/employees to set up shop over the past two and one-half years include Florida (up about 372,000), North Carolina (up about 181,000), Georgia (up about 158,000), and Utah (up about 105,000).
On the other end of the spectrum, the biggest losers for employees over the same period include New York (down about 328,000), Ohio (down about 124,000), Pennsylvania (down about 111,000), Michigan (down about 96,000), and Illinois (down about 76,000).
Perhaps most interestingly, if you look closely, is the number of states still below their February 2020 count compared to the states that have now surpassed their prior peak. Interestingly, only 19 states are above where they were in February 2020, with every other state below their pre-COVID counts. Hmm.
Percentage Change in Overall Employment – the Big Picture
The last look is the percentage change in overall employment since February 2020. Fascinatingly, when viewed from this perspective, Utah is on top, with employment up 6.7%. Following Utah’s lead are Idaho (up 6.3%), Puerto Rico (up 4.7%), Texas (up 4.3%), Florida (up 4.1%), and North Carolina (up 3.9%).
On the other end, the losers include the Virgin Islands at -11.0%, followed by Hawaii at -8.0%, District of Columbia at -5.0%, Vermont at -4.6%, and Alaska at –3.8%.
Summing Up
Overall, the employment picture across the world is changing, and changing fast. In the U.S., employment in some states has expanded at a much faster pace than in other states. Why this is the case is the subject of considerable debate, but one thing is not up for debate – it is happening.
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