Washington, D.C. — A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that the South fared worse than the Northeast, Midwest, and West after COVID-19 lockdowns ended.
The analysis looks at data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Data Survey and finds that the South, which is composed of many state governments that implemented short stay-at-home orders, saw relatively bad outcomes on each of the four concurrent indicators measured by the survey (lost jobs, insufficient food, and current mortgage and rent troubles). The South also performed worse on each of the future indicators measured by the survey (expected job loss and expected mortgage or rent troubles).
This analysis follows up on a July Center for American progress piece, which showed that states with strict stay-at-home orders did not experience worse economic outcomes than those with long stay-at-home orders and, in some cases, they perform better economically.
“Our analysis indicates that it is not lockdowns that are hurting the economy—it is the collapsed consumer demand from both the uncontrolled public health crisis and the lack of a coherent policy to address it,” said Ryan Zamarripa, associate director of economic policy at CAP and a co-author of the report. “It’s clear there is no economic recovery without first getting the public health crisis under control. What’s more, the regional variations in economic recovery show that only a national strategy to combat COVID-19 can ensure a full economic recovery.”
Read: “Only a National Strategy To Combat COVID-19 Can Ensure a Full Economic Recovery” by Ryan Zamarripa and Christian Weller
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].