Apocalyptic MSA & Division Job Losses: The Bad and the Ugly (There is No Good) -- April 2020
Each and every Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Division lost jobs in April 2020 from the month prior as the economic shutdown due to the Coronavirus dramatically slowed the U.S. economy based on analysis of the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The level of job losses, however, varied widely, ranging from a low of 2.1 percent in Staunton-Waynesboro, Virginia to a high of 31.1 percent in Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey.
As noted in a prior Stewart Blog, the type of jobs in a respective market will impact job losses as the Leisure & Hospitality Sector lost almost one-in-every two jobs since March while the Financial Activities and Government Sectors posted the smallest job loss rates at 2.9 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.
The 50 MSAs and Divisions (out of 437) with the lowest percentage of job losses in April 2020 as compared to March listed in the following table. All of these are comparatively smaller metros having less than 500,000 total jobs, with the exceptions being Oklahoma City (with 600,500 jobs and an April job loss rate of 8.6 percent) and Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama (down 8.2 percent to 501,800).
The 50 MSAs and Divisions with the greatest percentage of job losses are in the next table. There is no one-single, common factor amongst these other than the Coronavirus. Leisure & Hospitality, oil and gas, and even manufacturing type cities are included in this list – including New York City, the world’s financial center.
Click here for a PDF that details jobs losses for both April, March + April, and the prior 12-months for all 437 MSAs and Divisions sorted by state and metro.
Two other recent Stewart Blogs on employment (State Employment and Leisure & Hospitality Impact on Jobs) can be viewed at:
http://blog.stewart.com/stewart/2020/05/29/coronavirus-driven-job-apocalypse-by-state-april-2020/
Again (as per prior blogs):
“This Coronavirus driven recession will not be over until we can sit on a crowded airplane, walk into a packed elevator or attend a popular sporting event without concern.”
May employment numbers will likely continue to erode for most metros – but the type of jobs, incidence of Coronavirus and local+state government restrictions will all come into play in each respective job market.
Ted