Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Map showing real GDP growth rates in 2020, as projected by the International Monetary Fund
Date	February 2020–May 2023[1]
Type	Global recession
Cause	COVID-19 pandemic–induced stock market crash and lockdown
Outcome	Sharp rise in unemployment Stress on supply chains Decrease in government income Collapse of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries Reduced consumer activity

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The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been widely disruptive, adversely affecting travel, financial markets, employment, shipping, and other industries. The impacts can be attributed not just to government intervention to contain the virus (including at the Federal and State level), but also to consumer and business behavior to reduce exposure to and spread of the virus.

Real GDP contracted in 2020 by 3.5%, the first contraction since the 2008 Financial Crisis. Millions of workers were dislocated from their jobs, leading to multiple weeks of record shattering numbers of unemployment insurance applications. Consumer and retail activity contracted, with many businesses (especially restaurants) closing. Many businesses and offices transitioned to remote work to avoid the spread of COVID-19 at the office. Congress passed several pieces of legislation, such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide stimulus to mitigate the effect of workplace closures and income losses. The Federal Reserve reduced the federal funds rate target to nearly zero and introduced several liquidity facilities to keep financial markets functioning and to provide stimulus. In late 2021, inflation began to increase to levels not seen since the 1980s.

Recovery from the recession began relatively quickly, with the recession only lasting one quarter according to the NBER. As of 2022, the unemployment rate reached its pre-pandemic levels - nevertheless, in many key aspects and industries, the U.S. economy has not completely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A growing digital gap emerged in the United States following the pandemic, despite non-digital enterprises being more dynamic than in the European Union. In the United States, 48% of enterprises that were non-digital before to the pandemic began investing in digital technologies. 64% of firms that had previously implemented advanced digital technology also increased their investment in digitalisation.^[2][3] In the United States, 20% of jobs were found within firms that have not digitally transformed. According to a recent survey, these are called "sleepwalking firms", and are also more likely to pay lower wages and to create lower employment. These firms were also less likely to train their employees throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.^[4][5]