COVID-19 Ends Longest Employment Recovery and Expansion in CES History — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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This article dated 06/15/2021, COVID-19 ends longest employment recovery and expansion in CES history, was written by Ryan Ansell and John P. Mullins, economists in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It states that total nonfarm employment ended 2020 at 10.0 million below its February peak. According to data from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, nonfarm payroll employment in the United States declined by 9.4 million in 2020, the largest calendar-year decline in the history of the CES employment series. It states that the leisure and hospitality industry suffered the greatest job losses, that employment dropped by 20.7 million in April, and that employment of women fell by 5.2 million in 2020.

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About the Author

Ryan Ansell cesinfo@bls.gov

Ryan Ansell is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

John P. Mullins cesinfo@bls.gov

John P. Mullins is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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06/15/2021

COVID-19 ends longest employment recovery and expansion in CES history, causing unprecedented job losses in 2020

In March and April 2020, the longest employment recovery and expansion in U.S. history abruptly ended, with total nonfarm employment falling sharply because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the efforts to contain it. Job losses were historic and widespread. Although state and local government restrictions on businesses and individuals began to ease somewhat after April 2020, total nonfarm employment ended the year 10.0 million below its February peak.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, nonfarm payroll employment in the United States declined by 9.4 million in 2020, 1 the largest calendar-year decline in the history of the CES employment series. 2 (See chart 1.) As with virtually all economic activity in 2020, this decline was due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including pandemic-driven social and behavioral changes and government restrictions on business activity. 3 While the job losses were widespread, they were greatest in industries that involve people (employees, customers, or both) coming in close contact. The leisure and hospitality industry suffered the greatest job losses, but every major industry lost jobs over the year. (See charts 2 and 3.) Although 2020 can certainly be characterized as a year of extreme job loss, it also saw several months of recovery with historic job growth. In addition, the pandemic affected each industry differently, resulting in considerable variability in employment impacts.

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Chart 1. Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 129,790
Feb 2010 | 129,698
Mar 2010 | 129,879
Apr 2010 | 130,110
May 2010 | 130,650
Jun 2010 | 130,511
Jul 2010 | 130,427
Aug 2010 | 130,422
Sep 2010 | 130,357
Oct 2010 | 130,625
Nov 2010 | 130,750
Dec 2010 | 130,822
Jan 2011 | 130,841
Feb 2011 | 131,053
Mar 2011 | 131,288
Apr 2011 | 131,602
May 2011 | 131,703
Jun 2011 | 131,939
Jul 2011 | 131,999
Aug 2011 | 132,125
Sep 2011 | 132,358
Oct 2011 | 132,562
Nov 2011 | 132,694
Dec 2011 | 132,896
Jan 2012 | 133,250
Feb 2012 | 133,512
Mar 2012 | 133,752
Apr 2012 | 133,834
May 2012 | 133,934
Jun 2012 | 134,007
Jul 2012 | 134,159
Aug 2012 | 134,331
Sep 2012 | 134,518
Oct 2012 | 134,677
Nov 2012 | 134,833
Dec 2012 | 135,072
Jan 2013 | 135,263
Feb 2013 | 135,541
Mar 2013 | 135,680
Apr 2013 | 135,871
May 2013 | 136,093
Jun 2013 | 136,274
Jul 2013 | 136,386
Aug 2013 | 136,628
Sep 2013 | 136,815
Oct 2013 | 137,040
Nov 2013 | 137,304
Dec 2013 | 137,373
Jan 2014 | 137,548
Feb 2014 | 137,714
Mar 2014 | 137,968
Apr 2014 | 138,293
May 2014 | 138,511
Jun 2014 | 138,837
Jul 2014 | 139,069
Aug 2014 | 139,257
Sep 2014 | 139,566
Oct 2014 | 139,818
Nov 2014 | 140,109
Dec 2014 | 140,377
Jan 2015 | 140,568
Feb 2015 | 140,839
Mar 2015 | 140,910
Apr 2015 | 141,194
May 2015 | 141,525
Jun 2015 | 141,699
Jul 2015 | 142,001
Aug 2015 | 142,126
Sep 2015 | 142,281
Oct 2015 | 142,587
Nov 2015 | 142,824
Dec 2015 | 143,097
Jan 2016 | 143,205
Feb 2016 | 143,417
Mar 2016 | 143,654
Apr 2016 | 143,851
May 2016 | 143,892
Jun 2016 | 144,150
Jul 2016 | 144,521
Aug 2016 | 144,664
Sep 2016 | 144,953
Oct 2016 | 145,071
Nov 2016 | 145,201
Dec 2016 | 145,415
Jan 2017 | 145,612
Feb 2017 | 145,795
Mar 2017 | 145,934
Apr 2017 | 146,154
May 2017 | 146,295
Jun 2017 | 146,506
Jul 2017 | 146,734
Aug 2017 | 146,924
Sep 2017 | 146,966
Oct 2017 | 147,215
Nov 2017 | 147,411
Dec 2017 | 147,590
Jan 2018 | 147,671
Feb 2018 | 148,049
Mar 2018 | 148,244
Apr 2018 | 148,397
May 2018 | 148,667
Jun 2018 | 148,881
Jul 2018 | 149,030
Aug 2018 | 149,259
Sep 2018 | 149,364
Oct 2018 | 149,576
Nov 2018 | 149,668
Dec 2018 | 149,908
Jan 2019 | 150,145
Feb 2019 | 150,095
Mar 2019 | 150,263
Apr 2019 | 150,482
May 2019 | 150,545
Jun 2019 | 150,720
Jul 2019 | 150,913
Aug 2019 | 151,108
Sep 2019 | 151,329
Oct 2019 | 151,524
Nov 2019 | 151,758
Dec 2019 | 151,919
Jan 2020 | 152,234
Feb 2020 | 152,523
Mar 2020 | 150,840
Apr 2020 | 130,161
May 2020 | 132,994
Jun 2020 | 137,840
Jul 2020 | 139,566
Aug 2020 | 141,149
Sep 2020 | 141,865
Oct 2020 | 142,545
Nov 2020 | 142,809
Dec 2020 | 142,503
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

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Chart 2. Change in total nonfarm employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted, 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | Employment change
Leisure and hospitality | -3,677
Government | -1,273
Education and health services | -1,184
Professional and business services | -860
Manufacturing | -578
Retail trade | -459
Other services | -450
Wholesale trade | -282
Information | -238
Construction | -157
Mining and logging | -97
Transportation and warehousing | -93
Financial activities | -58
Utilities | -10
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

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Chart 3. Percent change in total nonfarm employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted, February–April and April–December 2020

Industry | February–April | April–December
Mining and logging | -9.9 | -4.0
Construction | -14.6 | 13.2
Manufacturing | -10.8 | 7.2
Wholesale trade | -6.9 | 2.4
Retail trade | -15.2 | 14.5
Transportation and warehousing | -9.9 | 8.0
Utilities | -0.7 | -0.9
Information | -9.6 | 1.0
Financial activities | -3.1 | 2.1
Professional and business services | -11.1 | 7.7
Education and health services | -11.6 | 7.0
Leisure and hospitality | -48.6 | 51.1
Other services | -23.7 | 20.8
Government | -4.4 | -1.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

This article details the historic employment declines of 2020, specifically within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also touches upon nonemployment data from the CES survey, including hours, earnings, and diffusion indexes, which measure the breadth of employment change across industries. The focus is on employment changes after the February 2020 peak in nonfarm payroll employment.

Historical context and employment trends

By the end of 2019, payroll employment in the United States had been growing steadily for over 9 years, marking the longest recovery and expansion in CES history. This growth continued into the start of 2020, with January and February adding a combined 604,000 jobs. At about the same time, however, news of a rapidly spreading disease was growing dire. After the first disease cases were identified in early January, their number grew rapidly. 4 On January 21, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first U.S. case. 5 On March 11, the day the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 as a pandemic, the count of new daily cases in the United States stood at 312. 6 This number would grow to the thousands within a week and exceed 22,000 by the end of the month. 7

In March 2020, state and local governments began imposing restrictions in response to the pandemic, including stay-at-home orders, social distancing requirements, travel restrictions, school closures, and capacity limitations on, or complete closures of, some businesses. 8 These restrictions varied from state to state and from industry to industry, as did the rigorousness of their enforcement. However, combined with a public reluctance to engage in activities requiring close human contact, the restrictions led to immediate job losses. 9 In March, nonfarm employment fell by 1.7 million, a loss only surpassed by a 1945 employment decline that came as the country demobilized after World War II. 10 Unsurprisingly, February was designated as the month in which overall economic activity peaked, marking the beginning of an economic recession. 11 In April, employment plummeted, dropping by 20.7 million—the largest decline in the history of the CES employment series, which originated in 1939. 12 Then, however, a job recovery began, with nonfarm employment growing by 2.8 million in May and by 4.8 million in June. In fact, May, June, July, and August brought the four largest monthly job gains in CES history. As COVID-19 cases surged back later in 2020 and as most state and local governments tightened restrictions in response, employment gains grew progressively smaller, and the year ended with a December employment loss.

The job loss of the 2020 recession is particularly stark when compared with losses in the previous four recessions. 13 (See chart 4.) After reaching a peak in February 2020, employment fell by a combined 22.4 million in March and April, a decline of 15 percent. By contrast, in the previous four employment downturns since 1981, job losses averaged 3 percent, with the largest decline (6 percent) occurring during the Great Recession of 2007–09.

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Chart 4. Total nonfarm employment indexed to employment peak, seasonally adjusted (February 2020 = 100)

Number of months preceding or following month of employment peak | July 1981 | June 1990 | February 2001 | January 2008 | February 2020
-3 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99
-2 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100
-1 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100
0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100
1 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99
2 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 85
3 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 87
4 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 90
5 | 99 | 99 | 100 | 99 | 92
6 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 93
7 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 93
8 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 93
9 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 98 | 94
10 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 98 | 93
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Employment of women, average hourly earnings, and average weekly hours

Besides driving large movements in employment, the pandemic led to substantial volatility in three other CES data series: employment of women, average weekly hours, and average hourly earnings. In all three cases, large swings in the data were due mainly to the industry mix of employment change.

Employment of women

In 2020, employment of women fell by 5.2 million. In March and April, women’s nonfarm employment declined by 12.2 million, accounting for 55 percent of the total employment decline over this time. (See table 1.) This disproportionate decline in women employment is attributable to two factors. The first is that pandemic-related job losses were concentrated in industries with large shares of women workers. In March and April, the leisure and hospitality industry, in which women made up 53 percent of total employment, lost 8.2 million jobs, an employment decline of 49 percent. Also hard hit was the private education and health services industry, whose total employment, made up mostly of women (77 percent), fell by 2.8 million, or 12 percent. Other industries in which women constituted a large share of total employment, such as government (58 percent), other services (53 percent), retail trade (50 percent), and professional and business services (46 percent), all saw employment declines of more than a million in March and April. Industries with relatively small shares of women employees generally experienced smaller job declines over the year. The second factor responsible for employment declines among women is that, within industry groups with large proportions of women employees, job losses were disproportionately concentrated among those employees. In education and health services, for example, employment declines among women accounted for 84 percent of total employment declines in March and April. And in leisure and hospitality—the industry with the greatest overall employment declines—women accounted for 54 percent of job losses in those 2 months. From April to December, women’s employment across industry groups grew at about the same pace as did total employment.

Table 1. Employment of women, by industry, seasonally adjusted

Industry | All employees, February 2020 (thousands) | Women employees as a percent of all employees, February 2020 | Change in all employees, February– April 2020 (thousands) | Change in women employees, February– April 2020 (thousands) | Change in women employees as a percent of change in all employees, February– April 2020
Total nonfarm | 152,523 | 50.0 | -22,362 | -12,205 | 54.6
Total private | 129,688 | 48.7 | -21,353 | -11,575 | 54.2
Mining and logging | 690 | 12.9 | -68 | -1 | 1.5
Construction | 7,648 | 13.0 | -1,113 | -112 | 10.1
Manufacturing | 12,799 | 28.7 | -1,385 | -461 | 33.3
Wholesale trade | 5,895 | 30.0 | -409 | -157 | 38.4
Retail trade | 15,610 | 49.6 | -2,375 | -1,423 | 59.9
Transportation and warehousing | 5,823 | 26.1 | -575 | -222 | 38.5
Utilities | 547 | 24.4 | -4 | -1 | 12.8
Information | 2,914 | 39.6 | -281 | -105 | 37.4
Financial activities | 8,875 | 56.5 | -279 | -136 | 48.7
Professional and business services | 21,469 | 45.9 | -2,387 | -1,198 | 50.2
Education and health services | 24,565 | 77.4 | -2,843 | -2,379 | 83.7
Leisure and hospitality | 16,915 | 53.2 | -8,224 | -4,459 | 54.2
Other services | 5,937 | 53.4 | -1,410 | -923 | 65.5
Government | 22,835 | 57.8 | -1,009 | -630 | 62.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Earnings

In 2020, average hourly earnings of all private sector employees rose by $1.55, or 5.5 percent, and average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees rose by $1.31, or 5.5 percent. In both dollar and percent terms, these are the largest annual changes in CES history. 14 Over-the-year changes, however, mask volatility in the monthly data. For example, in April, which saw the largest over-the-month earnings change during the year, the hourly earnings of all private sector employees rose by $1.33, or 4.6 percent, and the earnings of private sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by $1.01, or 4.2 percent. These changes were largely dictated by pandemic-related employment losses.

Employment declines were the greatest in industries with low earnings. (See table 2.) The leisure and hospitality industry, whose February average hourly earnings ($16.90) were the lowest of any industry, accounted for 39 percent of the February–April decline in total private employment. Retail trade, which had the second-lowest February earnings ($20.18) accounted for an additional 11 percent of job losses over the same period. Job losses in industries whose workers have higher earnings, such as information and financial activities, made up a relatively small share of the employment decline in March and April. Because overall private earnings in the CES program are calculated as an average weighted by employment share and by industry, the removal of workers with lower earnings drove up the total private average. 15 In other words, the loss of jobs in industries with low earnings pushes up average hourly earnings at the total private sector level.

Table 2. Employment change from February to April 2020, and February 2020 all-employee average hourly earnings, by industry, seasonally adjusted

Industry | Employment change, February–April 2020 (thousands) | Average hourly earnings, February 2020
Mining and logging | -68 | $34.41
Construction | -1,113 | 31.36
Manufacturing | -1,385 | 28.23
Wholesale trade | -409 | 31.81
Retail trade | -2,375 | 20.18
Transportation and warehousing | -575 | 25.05
Utilities | -4 | 42.42
Information | -281 | 42.95
Financial activities | -279 | 36.85
Professional and business services | -2,387 | 34.43
Education and health services | -2,843 | 27.90
Leisure and hospitality | -8,224 | 16.90
Other services | -1,410 | 25.59
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

There is also evidence that job losses were concentrated among workers with low earnings. As businesses tried to adapt to the pandemic-driven economic slowdown, newer and lower earning workers were let go, with supervisors and experienced (and therefore higher paid) workers being relied upon to maintain business operations. 16 This resulted in increases in the average earnings of workers, and these increases aggregated to the topside level.

Hours

In 2020, average weekly hours of all private sector employees rose by 0.4 hour, to 34.7 hours, and average weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 0.7 hour, to 34.2 hours. The annual change for all private sector employees was the largest since 2010, when average weekly hours grew by the same amount. The annual change for production and nonsupervisory employees was the largest in CES history. In May, which saw the largest over-the-month change during the year, weekly hours of all private sector employees grew by 0.5 hour, while hours of private sector production and nonsupervisory employees grew by 0.6 hour. These changes, like those for earnings, were largely dictated by pandemic-related employment changes. While employees in most industries saw an increase in their workweeks in May, the employment changes, especially those in industries with shorter workweeks, complicate monthly comparisons of average weekly hours.

Diffusion indexes

CES uses diffusion indexes as a supplementary analysis tool to measure how widespread employment changes are across industries. Rather than measuring the magnitude of employment change (i.e., the number of jobs gained or lost over time), diffusion indexes measure how many industries added or lost jobs over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. An index value above 50 indicates that, over the relevant period, more industries are adding jobs than losing them, whereas a value below 50 indicates that more industries are losing jobs than adding them. CES produces diffusion indexes of employment for the total private sector and for manufacturing.

Diffusion indexes show that pandemic-related job losses were spread across most industries. In March 2020, the 1-month diffusion index for total private employment fell by 42.6 points, to 12.5, and in April, it fell a further 8.0 points, to 4.5—the lowest reading in the 30-year history of the time series. (See chart 5.) In March, job losses occurred in 221 of the 257 industries included in the total private diffusion index, and in April, 244 industries experienced job losses. The 1-month manufacturing index fell by 28.0 points, to 15.3, in March, and it fell a further 12.0 points, to 3.3, in April. As was the case with the index for total private employment, the April reading for manufacturing was the lowest in the history of the data series. In March, 61 of 75 manufacturing industries shed jobs, and in April, 72 manufacturing component industries lost jobs.

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Chart 5. One-month diffusion index, total private and manufacturing employment, seasonally adjusted, January 2007–December 2020

Date | Total private | Manufacturing
Jan 2007 | 64.0 | 62.0
Feb 2007 | 57.4 | 44.7
Mar 2007 | 57.4 | 40.0
Apr 2007 | 54.1 | 34.0
May 2007 | 55.4 | 41.3
Jun 2007 | 51.6 | 36.0
Jul 2007 | 48.2 | 38.0
Aug 2007 | 44.0 | 24.0
Sep 2007 | 53.9 | 32.7
Oct 2007 | 54.5 | 39.3
Nov 2007 | 54.5 | 49.3
Dec 2007 | 54.5 | 46.0
Jan 2008 | 53.9 | 44.7
Feb 2008 | 48.1 | 45.3
Mar 2008 | 49.4 | 46.0
Apr 2008 | 42.4 | 35.3
May 2008 | 39.9 | 40.0
Jun 2008 | 34.2 | 18.7
Jul 2008 | 35.6 | 21.3
Aug 2008 | 33.5 | 25.3
Sep 2008 | 27.8 | 18.0
Oct 2008 | 32.9 | 24.7
Nov 2008 | 26.7 | 12.7
Dec 2008 | 21.2 | 8.7
Jan 2009 | 23.2 | 10.0
Feb 2009 | 18.5 | 7.3
Mar 2009 | 17.1 | 10.0
Apr 2009 | 15.6 | 11.3
May 2009 | 28.8 | 8.7
Jun 2009 | 25.7 | 10.0
Jul 2009 | 27.6 | 21.3
Aug 2009 | 33.1 | 30.0
Sep 2009 | 37.0 | 26.7
Oct 2009 | 27.2 | 21.3
Nov 2009 | 43.6 | 38.0
Dec 2009 | 38.5 | 44.0
Jan 2010 | 43.0 | 35.3
Feb 2010 | 45.1 | 47.3
Mar 2010 | 55.6 | 56.0
Apr 2010 | 62.6 | 63.3
May 2010 | 55.4 | 66.7
Jun 2010 | 55.4 | 59.3
Jul 2010 | 53.7 | 56.7
Aug 2010 | 58.8 | 51.3
Sep 2010 | 52.9 | 55.3
Oct 2010 | 61.5 | 50.7
Nov 2010 | 55.8 | 52.0
Dec 2010 | 56.2 | 59.3
Jan 2011 | 55.4 | 66.0
Feb 2011 | 67.5 | 70.0
Mar 2011 | 64.0 | 62.0
Apr 2011 | 65.8 | 64.0
May 2011 | 57.6 | 53.3
Jun 2011 | 62.6 | 59.3
Jul 2011 | 62.1 | 59.3
Aug 2011 | 62.1 | 55.3
Sep 2011 | 62.6 | 57.3
Oct 2011 | 60.3 | 55.3
Nov 2011 | 54.5 | 45.3
Dec 2011 | 63.8 | 64.7
Jan 2012 | 70.2 | 66.7
Feb 2012 | 62.8 | 68.0
Mar 2012 | 63.2 | 67.3
Apr 2012 | 59.3 | 62.0
May 2012 | 58.6 | 53.3
Jun 2012 | 53.9 | 54.0
Jul 2012 | 57.0 | 54.7
Aug 2012 | 58.8 | 50.0
Sep 2012 | 59.7 | 54.0
Oct 2012 | 59.7 | 56.7
Nov 2012 | 58.8 | 34.7
Dec 2012 | 60.5 | 52.0
Jan 2013 | 65.8 | 62.7
Feb 2013 | 60.9 | 56.7
Mar 2013 | 58.9 | 55.3
Apr 2013 | 54.3 | 43.3
May 2013 | 58.9 | 44.0
Jun 2013 | 60.5 | 50.7
Jul 2013 | 54.7 | 51.3
Aug 2013 | 62.5 | 59.3
Sep 2013 | 63.8 | 58.7
Oct 2013 | 59.5 | 58.0
Nov 2013 | 68.5 | 63.3
Dec 2013 | 57.6 | 55.3
Jan 2014 | 60.3 | 48.7
Feb 2014 | 61.3 | 56.7
Mar 2014 | 67.1 | 62.7
Apr 2014 | 66.3 | 58.0
May 2014 | 64.6 | 56.0
Jun 2014 | 66.7 | 61.3
Jul 2014 | 64.6 | 51.3
Aug 2014 | 66.3 | 66.7
Sep 2014 | 62.5 | 56.0
Oct 2014 | 70.2 | 70.0
Nov 2014 | 67.7 | 68.7
Dec 2014 | 62.1 | 62.0
Jan 2015 | 53.5 | 44.0
Feb 2015 | 64.6 | 58.7
Mar 2015 | 53.7 | 52.7
Apr 2015 | 62.8 | 57.3
May 2015 | 65.2 | 58.0
Jun 2015 | 59.7 | 58.7
Jul 2015 | 59.9 | 47.3
Aug 2015 | 54.3 | 44.7
Sep 2015 | 55.6 | 49.3
Oct 2015 | 56.2 | 49.3
Nov 2015 | 57.0 | 51.3
Dec 2015 | 59.9 | 52.7
Jan 2016 | 60.3 | 62.0
Feb 2016 | 56.8 | 44.7
Mar 2016 | 56.2 | 36.0
Apr 2016 | 58.0 | 49.3
May 2016 | 49.4 | 39.3
Jun 2016 | 61.1 | 54.0
Jul 2016 | 60.3 | 48.0
Aug 2016 | 61.1 | 47.3
Sep 2016 | 62.1 | 52.7
Oct 2016 | 60.5 | 50.0
Nov 2016 | 54.9 | 41.3
Dec 2016 | 63.2 | 60.0
Jan 2017 | 58.9 | 54.0
Feb 2017 | 61.5 | 57.3
Mar 2017 | 60.7 | 60.7
Apr 2017 | 61.7 | 62.0
May 2017 | 56.6 | 44.0
Jun 2017 | 62.3 | 58.7
Jul 2017 | 67.7 | 68.0
Aug 2017 | 60.9 | 62.7
Sep 2017 | 58.2 | 59.3
Oct 2017 | 63.6 | 64.7
Nov 2017 | 62.3 | 63.3
Dec 2017 | 62.6 | 64.0
Jan 2018 | 58.6 | 64.7
Feb 2018 | 71.0 | 70.0
Mar 2018 | 65.2 | 65.3
Apr 2018 | 61.5 | 64.0
May 2018 | 66.5 | 66.0
Jun 2018 | 63.4 | 66.0
Jul 2018 | 59.7 | 63.3
Aug 2018 | 65.2 | 60.7
Sep 2018 | 60.5 | 62.7
Oct 2018 | 60.7 | 55.3
Nov 2018 | 55.4 | 58.7
Dec 2018 | 65.2 | 65.3
Jan 2019 | 62.3 | 62.7
Feb 2019 | 58.4 | 55.3
Mar 2019 | 55.8 | 49.3
Apr 2019 | 59.7 | 46.7
May 2019 | 53.7 | 47.3
Jun 2019 | 58.6 | 54.7
Jul 2019 | 55.3 | 46.7
Aug 2019 | 54.7 | 46.7
Sep 2019 | 58.0 | 44.0
Oct 2019 | 55.3 | 34.0
Nov 2019 | 67.1 | 60.7
Dec 2019 | 55.3 | 43.3
Jan 2020 | 58.2 | 40.0
Feb 2020 | 55.1 | 43.3
Mar 2020 | 12.5 | 15.3
Apr 2020 | 4.5 | 3.3
May 2020 | 63.2 | 69.3
Jun 2020 | 76.1 | 78.0
Jul 2020 | 61.9 | 47.3
Aug 2020 | 69.1 | 58.0
Sep 2020 | 70.6 | 66.7
Oct 2020 | 70.4 | 60.0
Nov 2020 | 64.4 | 59.3
Dec 2020 | 61.7 | 70.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

From April to May, the total private index quickly surged back to 63.2, and the index for manufacturing rose to 69.3, reflecting the beginning of widespread job gains. For the rest of 2020, the 1-month total private index remained above 50, indicating a preponderance of job-gaining industries each month, and the 1-month manufacturing index was above 50 in all but 1 month between April and December. The 12-month diffusion index, however, paints a somewhat darker picture. 17 In December, the 12-month total private index stood at 14.6 and the manufacturing index stood at 11.3, indicating that, in 2020, job-losing industries outnumbered job-gaining industries. From December 2019 to December 2020, 219 of 257 total private industries lost jobs, with only 37 industries seeing job gains; in manufacturing, 66 of 75 industries shed jobs over this period, with only 8 seeing employment increases.

Detailed industry analysis

This section discusses CES employment changes by industry.

Leisure and hospitality

After reaching a peak in February 2020, employment in leisure and hospitality fell by 8.2 million in March and April. (See chart 6.) By the end of the year, 4.4 million of these jobs, or 54 percent, had been recovered. Leisure and hospitality’s overall job loss for 2020 was 3.7 million—the largest of any major industry group.

⁠

Chart 6. Employment in leisure and hospitality, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 12,932
Feb 2010 | 12,927
Mar 2010 | 12,943
Apr 2010 | 12,979
May 2010 | 13,012
Jun 2010 | 13,034
Jul 2010 | 13,048
Aug 2010 | 13,081
Sep 2010 | 13,137
Oct 2010 | 13,127
Nov 2010 | 13,126
Dec 2010 | 13,157
Jan 2011 | 13,149
Feb 2011 | 13,188
Mar 2011 | 13,247
Apr 2011 | 13,298
May 2011 | 13,293
Jun 2011 | 13,343
Jul 2011 | 13,370
Aug 2011 | 13,395
Sep 2011 | 13,426
Oct 2011 | 13,464
Nov 2011 | 13,511
Dec 2011 | 13,538
Jan 2012 | 13,600
Feb 2012 | 13,641
Mar 2012 | 13,706
Apr 2012 | 13,709
May 2012 | 13,705
Jun 2012 | 13,702
Jul 2012 | 13,735
Aug 2012 | 13,804
Sep 2012 | 13,872
Oct 2012 | 13,883
Nov 2012 | 13,910
Dec 2012 | 13,978
Jan 2013 | 14,037
Feb 2013 | 14,082
Mar 2013 | 14,113
Apr 2013 | 14,152
May 2013 | 14,193
Jun 2013 | 14,252
Jul 2013 | 14,288
Aug 2013 | 14,327
Sep 2013 | 14,339
Oct 2013 | 14,395
Nov 2013 | 14,432
Dec 2013 | 14,454
Jan 2014 | 14,489
Feb 2014 | 14,509
Mar 2014 | 14,564
Apr 2014 | 14,614
May 2014 | 14,670
Jun 2014 | 14,693
Jul 2014 | 14,703
Aug 2014 | 14,725
Sep 2014 | 14,768
Oct 2014 | 14,811
Nov 2014 | 14,849
Dec 2014 | 14,892
Jan 2015 | 14,915
Feb 2015 | 14,972
Mar 2015 | 14,981
Apr 2015 | 15,023
May 2015 | 15,103
Jun 2015 | 15,108
Jul 2015 | 15,168
Aug 2015 | 15,201
Sep 2015 | 15,279
Oct 2015 | 15,316
Nov 2015 | 15,374
Dec 2015 | 15,406
Jan 2016 | 15,454
Feb 2016 | 15,494
Mar 2016 | 15,535
Apr 2016 | 15,562
May 2016 | 15,583
Jun 2016 | 15,639
Jul 2016 | 15,679
Aug 2016 | 15,725
Sep 2016 | 15,785
Oct 2016 | 15,780
Nov 2016 | 15,826
Dec 2016 | 15,845
Jan 2017 | 15,867
Feb 2017 | 15,905
Mar 2017 | 15,919
Apr 2017 | 15,988
May 2017 | 16,021
Jun 2017 | 16,063
Jul 2017 | 16,129
Aug 2017 | 16,139
Sep 2017 | 16,090
Oct 2017 | 16,158
Nov 2017 | 16,175
Dec 2017 | 16,192
Jan 2018 | 16,188
Feb 2018 | 16,213
Mar 2018 | 16,215
Apr 2018 | 16,217
May 2018 | 16,262
Jun 2018 | 16,308
Jul 2018 | 16,344
Aug 2018 | 16,348
Sep 2018 | 16,329
Oct 2018 | 16,363
Nov 2018 | 16,371
Dec 2018 | 16,418
Jan 2019 | 16,496
Feb 2019 | 16,466
Mar 2019 | 16,488
Apr 2019 | 16,507
May 2019 | 16,514
Jun 2019 | 16,524
Jul 2019 | 16,535
Aug 2019 | 16,580
Sep 2019 | 16,648
Oct 2019 | 16,727
Nov 2019 | 16,769
Dec 2019 | 16,811
Jan 2020 | 16,858
Feb 2020 | 16,915
Mar 2020 | 16,133
Apr 2020 | 8,691
May 2020 | 10,146
Jun 2020 | 12,158
Jul 2020 | 12,824
Aug 2020 | 12,963
Sep 2020 | 13,357
Oct 2020 | 13,622
Nov 2020 | 13,632
Dec 2020 | 13,134
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

It is unsurprising that leisure and hospitality industries were seriously affected by the pandemic. These industries include businesses such as restaurants and bars, hotels, and sports and entertainment venues. What made this industry group so susceptible to pandemic impacts is that the activities of many of its businesses involve close gatherings of people. Restaurant and bar patrons dine and drink with other patrons, and theatergoers sit next to other theatergoers. In addition, leisure and hospitality industries, especially hotels, are tightly linked to travel, an activity that was seriously curtailed by fears of COVID-19 transmission. With individuals traveling less and staying home more, hotel occupancy rates plummeted.

Within leisure and hospitality, the accommodation and food services industry lost 6.9 million jobs in the 2 months following its February employment peak. Most of this decline occurred in the industry’s largest component, food services and drinking places. 18 (See chart 7.) Restaurants and bars faced tight restrictions early in the pandemic. 19 These restrictions, combined with customer reticence to visit such establishments, led to sudden and severe declines in restaurant sales, which fell by 49 percent from February to April. 20 Employment in the industry fell just as fast over this period, declining by 6.0 million, or 49 percent.

⁠

Chart 7. Employment change in leisure and hospitality, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, February–April and April–December 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | February–April | April–December
Performing arts and spectator sports | -251.7 | 48.4
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions | -49.4 | 7.8
Amusements, gambling, and recreation | -1,032.0 | 490.9
Accommodation | -915.6 | 232.0
Food services and drinking places | -5,974.7 | 3,663.5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Job losses in food services and drinking places were greatest in full-service restaurants, in which patrons place orders and are served while seated. (See chart 8.) These types of restaurants faced wariness by customers, as well as government restrictions that imposed capacity limitations or limited sales to takeout, curbside pickup, or delivery. Employment in full-service restaurants fell by a combined 3.7 million in March and April, accounting for 70 percent of job losses in restaurants and other eating places over these 2 months. As restrictions began to ease in the late spring and summer months, full-service restaurants added 1.9 million jobs in May and June. 21 Growth continued at a lower rate through October, with the industry ending the year with employment declines in November and December. These late-year job losses coincided with a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases and a corresponding resumption of state and local government restrictions on restaurants. 22 By the end of the year, 63 percent of the jobs lost in March and April had been recovered, but employment in full-service restaurants was still 1.4 million below its February peak.

⁠

Chart 8. Employment in selected component industries of food services and drinking places, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Full-service restaurants | Limited-service restaurants
Jan 2010 | 4,440.2 | 3,397.3
Feb 2010 | 4,453.1 | 3,383.6
Mar 2010 | 4,453.3 | 3,399.9
Apr 2010 | 4,460.5 | 3,401.0
May 2010 | 4,468.7 | 3,407.8
Jun 2010 | 4,469.7 | 3,411.9
Jul 2010 | 4,475.9 | 3,417.1
Aug 2010 | 4,487.0 | 3,424.9
Sep 2010 | 4,513.7 | 3,430.5
Oct 2010 | 4,511.1 | 3,442.9
Nov 2010 | 4,518.4 | 3,445.1
Dec 2010 | 4,528.9 | 3,455.7
Jan 2011 | 4,541.2 | 3,460.6
Feb 2011 | 4,545.3 | 3,469.4
Mar 2011 | 4,563.9 | 3,487.3
Apr 2011 | 4,582.8 | 3,497.8
May 2011 | 4,588.0 | 3,511.2
Jun 2011 | 4,603.6 | 3,511.2
Jul 2011 | 4,613.1 | 3,507.7
Aug 2011 | 4,622.5 | 3,521.7
Sep 2011 | 4,630.9 | 3,533.0
Oct 2011 | 4,647.5 | 3,543.8
Nov 2011 | 4,670.9 | 3,558.5
Dec 2011 | 4,694.9 | 3,566.1
Jan 2012 | 4,715.9 | 3,580.7
Feb 2012 | 4,718.8 | 3,599.4
Mar 2012 | 4,737.8 | 3,626.2
Apr 2012 | 4,750.4 | 3,624.9
May 2012 | 4,744.8 | 3,623.8
Jun 2012 | 4,751.5 | 3,638.4
Jul 2012 | 4,756.5 | 3,654.6
Aug 2012 | 4,771.4 | 3,665.8
Sep 2012 | 4,795.2 | 3,689.0
Oct 2012 | 4,803.6 | 3,698.1
Nov 2012 | 4,800.2 | 3,710.5
Dec 2012 | 4,828.6 | 3,734.0
Jan 2013 | 4,841.7 | 3,752.7
Feb 2013 | 4,864.6 | 3,753.2
Mar 2013 | 4,873.0 | 3,764.8
Apr 2013 | 4,891.5 | 3,775.3
May 2013 | 4,911.9 | 3,797.9
Jun 2013 | 4,927.1 | 3,817.8
Jul 2013 | 4,943.2 | 3,837.9
Aug 2013 | 4,953.9 | 3,852.9
Sep 2013 | 4,952.4 | 3,857.9
Oct 2013 | 4,963.5 | 3,867.0
Nov 2013 | 4,978.8 | 3,883.4
Dec 2013 | 4,976.0 | 3,890.7
Jan 2014 | 4,983.3 | 3,898.9
Feb 2014 | 4,990.7 | 3,904.0
Mar 2014 | 5,013.1 | 3,919.6
Apr 2014 | 5,021.4 | 3,939.2
May 2014 | 5,035.0 | 3,946.4
Jun 2014 | 5,053.6 | 3,956.9
Jul 2014 | 5,054.7 | 3,967.4
Aug 2014 | 5,058.8 | 3,976.8
Sep 2014 | 5,071.4 | 3,987.8
Oct 2014 | 5,084.0 | 3,999.8
Nov 2014 | 5,105.4 | 4,002.3
Dec 2014 | 5,119.4 | 4,010.0
Jan 2015 | 5,134.7 | 4,024.8
Feb 2015 | 5,151.0 | 4,047.3
Mar 2015 | 5,160.9 | 4,047.9
Apr 2015 | 5,170.4 | 4,062.3
May 2015 | 5,189.3 | 4,081.7
Jun 2015 | 5,200.6 | 4,101.7
Jul 2015 | 5,218.0 | 4,111.4
Aug 2015 | 5,234.2 | 4,124.7
Sep 2015 | 5,257.9 | 4,146.5
Oct 2015 | 5,273.4 | 4,166.6
Nov 2015 | 5,273.9 | 4,190.2
Dec 2015 | 5,295.4 | 4,199.8
Jan 2016 | 5,313.9 | 4,213.5
Feb 2016 | 5,329.7 | 4,218.8
Mar 2016 | 5,336.5 | 4,232.5
Apr 2016 | 5,343.3 | 4,245.3
May 2016 | 5,352.0 | 4,250.0
Jun 2016 | 5,359.3 | 4,261.0
Jul 2016 | 5,359.8 | 4,262.6
Aug 2016 | 5,379.6 | 4,285.3
Sep 2016 | 5,397.4 | 4,303.6
Oct 2016 | 5,401.7 | 4,305.9
Nov 2016 | 5,399.7 | 4,312.1
Dec 2016 | 5,406.0 | 4,325.7
Jan 2017 | 5,410.0 | 4,337.0
Feb 2017 | 5,414.3 | 4,353.9
Mar 2017 | 5,426.2 | 4,358.9
Apr 2017 | 5,442.3 | 4,364.6
May 2017 | 5,446.0 | 4,371.2
Jun 2017 | 5,451.2 | 4,369.7
Jul 2017 | 5,474.1 | 4,388.1
Aug 2017 | 5,473.2 | 4,395.7
Sep 2017 | 5,437.0 | 4,391.0
Oct 2017 | 5,471.7 | 4,408.8
Nov 2017 | 5,474.6 | 4,417.2
Dec 2017 | 5,483.0 | 4,422.8
Jan 2018 | 5,482.2 | 4,420.8
Feb 2018 | 5,489.6 | 4,422.7
Mar 2018 | 5,484.5 | 4,427.3
Apr 2018 | 5,478.8 | 4,421.6
May 2018 | 5,497.1 | 4,427.7
Jun 2018 | 5,516.5 | 4,431.6
Jul 2018 | 5,516.9 | 4,432.3
Aug 2018 | 5,514.8 | 4,445.2
Sep 2018 | 5,501.5 | 4,437.0
Oct 2018 | 5,511.1 | 4,438.0
Nov 2018 | 5,515.1 | 4,448.3
Dec 2018 | 5,521.4 | 4,462.5
Jan 2019 | 5,532.1 | 4,480.3
Feb 2019 | 5,503.7 | 4,477.0
Mar 2019 | 5,515.1 | 4,485.3
Apr 2019 | 5,515.7 | 4,496.9
May 2019 | 5,522.7 | 4,502.5
Jun 2019 | 5,527.4 | 4,507.9
Jul 2019 | 5,535.5 | 4,517.5
Aug 2019 | 5,544.5 | 4,516.0
Sep 2019 | 5,556.0 | 4,527.5
Oct 2019 | 5,579.5 | 4,542.1
Nov 2019 | 5,599.4 | 4,543.3
Dec 2019 | 5,605.5 | 4,544.3
Jan 2020 | 5,633.3 | 4,551.1
Feb 2020 | 5,658.2 | 4,563.5
Mar 2020 | 5,246.3 | 4,466.0
Apr 2020 | 1,979.5 | 3,499.3
May 2020 | 2,941.8 | 3,803.9
Jun 2020 | 3,919.6 | 4,058.6
Jul 2020 | 4,260.0 | 4,157.8
Aug 2020 | 4,336.6 | 4,173.8
Sep 2020 | 4,498.3 | 4,244.2
Oct 2020 | 4,626.5 | 4,289.1
Nov 2020 | 4,614.5 | 4,284.4
Dec 2020 | 4,293.4 | 4,296.5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Employment in limited-service restaurants also fell sharply in March and April, declining by 1.1 million. Although this decline—at 23 percent—was certainly large, it was much less steep than the 65-percent loss suffered by full-service restaurants. The relatively greater resilience of limited-service restaurants is largely a byproduct of their general business model. These restaurants, which include pizza and sandwich shops, takeout eating places, and fast-food and similar restaurants, had in place many systems and practices that benefitted them during the pandemic. Limited-service restaurants rely less on in-person dining and more on takeout, drive-through service, and delivery, and therefore posed less risk to customers. Most fast-food chains fared relatively well, because many of them have drive-through windows, which allow for social distancing. 23 By the end of 2020, limited-service restaurants had recovered 75 percent of their March and April job losses.

Other food service industries also experienced pandemic-related job losses. March and April saw combined job losses of 415,000 in snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, which include businesses such as donut, bagel, and coffee shops. By the end of the year, 77 percent of these jobs had been recovered. Employment in cafeterias, grill buffets, and buffets fell by 94,000 in March and April. School and university closures eliminated much of the need for cafeteria service, and concerns about the health risks associated with dining at buffets led to their closures in much of the country. 24 About a quarter of cafeteria and buffet employment had been recovered by the end of 2020.

Employment in the accommodation industry fell by 1.0 million in March, April, and May, as travel restrictions hit this industry especially hard. The United States restricted travel for residents of many countries, and some states imposed traveler quarantine restrictions or prohibitions on domestic travel. 25 Both pleasure and business travel—key revenue sources for the accommodation industry—fell in response to these restrictions, as well as out of concern for employee safety. 26 According to one source, hotel occupancy rates in April 2020 fell to 25 percent, a decline of 64 percent from April 2019. 27 Along with these low occupancy rates came job losses. Occupancy rates recovered slightly throughout the remainder of the year, but they ended the year 32 percent below 2019 levels. 28 By the end of the year, accommodation had recovered only 33 percent of its pandemic-related job losses.

Within leisure and hospitality, the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry lost 1.3 million jobs in March and April. This decline was concentrated in amusements, gambling, and recreation, which lost 1.0 million jobs. This industry includes casinos, amusement parks, bowling centers and fitness clubs, and similar businesses. These industry components faced the same combination of customer reluctance and state and local government restrictions as did other public-facing industries, such as performing arts and spectator sports. Employment in this industry fell by 259,000 in March, April, and May, finishing the year 204,000 below its January 2020 level.

Government

Government employment declined by 1.3 million in 2020, a drop of 6 percent. (See chart 9.) The largest job losses occurred in March, April, and May, when employment fell by a combined 1.5 million. Driving these losses were employment declines in local government education, which lost 749,000 jobs over the same period, and local government (excluding education), which lost 514,000 jobs. (See chart 10.)

⁠

Chart 9. Employment in government, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 22,491
Feb 2010 | 22,476
Mar 2010 | 22,518
Apr 2010 | 22,569
May 2010 | 22,996
Jun 2010 | 22,740
Jul 2010 | 22,569
Aug 2010 | 22,420
Sep 2010 | 22,247
Oct 2010 | 22,297
Nov 2010 | 22,287
Dec 2010 | 22,266
Jan 2011 | 22,258
Feb 2011 | 22,215
Mar 2011 | 22,192
Apr 2011 | 22,184
May 2011 | 22,129
Jun 2011 | 22,164
Jul 2011 | 22,049
Aug 2011 | 22,017
Sep 2011 | 21,983
Oct 2011 | 21,998
Nov 2011 | 21,971
Dec 2011 | 21,954
Jan 2012 | 21,946
Feb 2012 | 21,947
Mar 2012 | 21,943
Apr 2012 | 21,931
May 2012 | 21,911
Jun 2012 | 21,930
Jul 2012 | 21,913
Aug 2012 | 21,916
Sep 2012 | 21,925
Oct 2012 | 21,903
Nov 2012 | 21,883
Dec 2012 | 21,887
Jan 2013 | 21,869
Feb 2013 | 21,881
Mar 2013 | 21,870
Apr 2013 | 21,869
May 2013 | 21,864
Jun 2013 | 21,840
Jul 2013 | 21,815
Aug 2013 | 21,831
Sep 2013 | 21,835
Oct 2013 | 21,830
Nov 2013 | 21,843
Dec 2013 | 21,820
Jan 2014 | 21,814
Feb 2014 | 21,825
Mar 2014 | 21,833
Apr 2014 | 21,853
May 2014 | 21,832
Jun 2014 | 21,895
Jul 2014 | 21,901
Aug 2014 | 21,855
Sep 2014 | 21,897
Oct 2014 | 21,917
Nov 2014 | 21,932
Dec 2014 | 21,947
Jan 2015 | 21,960
Feb 2015 | 21,978
Mar 2015 | 21,970
Apr 2015 | 22,005
May 2015 | 22,012
Jun 2015 | 22,015
Jul 2015 | 22,050
Aug 2015 | 22,060
Sep 2015 | 22,040
Oct 2015 | 22,056
Nov 2015 | 22,081
Dec 2015 | 22,097
Jan 2016 | 22,114
Feb 2016 | 22,138
Mar 2016 | 22,178
Apr 2016 | 22,184
May 2016 | 22,199
Jun 2016 | 22,180
Jul 2016 | 22,289
Aug 2016 | 22,284
Sep 2016 | 22,323
Oct 2016 | 22,295
Nov 2016 | 22,277
Dec 2016 | 22,304
Jan 2017 | 22,308
Feb 2017 | 22,320
Mar 2017 | 22,325
Apr 2017 | 22,338
May 2017 | 22,334
Jun 2017 | 22,343
Jul 2017 | 22,363
Aug 2017 | 22,371
Sep 2017 | 22,386
Oct 2017 | 22,374
Nov 2017 | 22,389
Dec 2017 | 22,395
Jan 2018 | 22,364
Feb 2018 | 22,397
Mar 2018 | 22,403
Apr 2018 | 22,420
May 2018 | 22,432
Jun 2018 | 22,457
Jul 2018 | 22,464
Aug 2018 | 22,485
Sep 2018 | 22,494
Oct 2018 | 22,494
Nov 2018 | 22,477
Dec 2018 | 22,516
Jan 2019 | 22,517
Feb 2019 | 22,497
Mar 2019 | 22,524
Apr 2019 | 22,563
May 2019 | 22,556
Jun 2019 | 22,562
Jul 2019 | 22,607
Aug 2019 | 22,663
Sep 2019 | 22,690
Oct 2019 | 22,692
Nov 2019 | 22,716
Dec 2019 | 22,729
Jan 2020 | 22,789
Feb 2020 | 22,835
Mar 2020 | 22,774
Apr 2020 | 21,826
May 2020 | 21,314
Jun 2020 | 21,353
Jul 2020 | 21,556
Aug 2020 | 22,073
Sep 2020 | 21,857
Oct 2020 | 21,583
Nov 2020 | 21,488
Dec 2020 | 21,456
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 10. Employment change in government, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, February–May and May–December 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | February–May | May–December
Federal government | 14.0 | 15.0
State government education | -255.3 | -97.2
State government, excluding education | -17.1 | -3.3
Local government education | -749.2 | 46.0
Local government, excluding education | -514.2 | 181.8
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

In early 2020, education officials started to discuss closing schools, as fears of spreading COVID-19 to children through exposure in classrooms, lunchrooms, and playgrounds gripped the nation. Eventually, most states recommended the closure of school buildings for the rest of the 2019–20 academic year, and by the end of March, all U.S. public school buildings were closed. 29 This either ended the school year early or moved students to virtual learning. Along with these closures came layoffs. 30 In March, April, and May, employment in local government education fell by 749,000. In June, July, and August, there were fewer layoffs than usual because workers had already been laid off as a result of the pandemic, and this led to employment gains after seasonal adjustment. Local government education continued to lose jobs for the remainder of the year, shedding 346,000 jobs from August to December, largely because of fewer hires being brought on than usual for the beginning of the 2020–21 school year. By the end of 2020, the industry had recovered only 6 percent of the jobs lost from February to May.

State government education behaved similarly to local government education, losing 255,000 jobs in March, April, and May; adding 28,000 jobs in June, July, and August; and losing 125,000 jobs in September, October, November, and December. Again, seasonally adjusted job gains over the summer reflected layoffs that had already occurred in the spring, and job losses in the fall reflected reduced hiring for the 2020–21 school year. However, state government education did not recover any of the jobs lost in March, April, and May. 31

The education industries ended the year quite differently than they started it, with some state and local schools reopening fully, some adopting a hybrid model of in-person and virtual learning, and some remaining fully virtual. 32

Over the year, federal government employment grew by 50,000, with monthly movements largely driven by the hiring and laying off of temporary workers tied to conducting the 2020 decennial census. Activities related to the census were supposed to peak in May, but they were delayed for several months, peaking in August instead, as the U.S. Census Bureau modified normal activities in order to follow pandemic guidelines. These modifications included changing when and how temporary workers would follow up with residents who failed to file their census forms on time. Over the year, hiring tied to the census accounted for 280,000 jobs between December 2019 and August 2020, but by the end of the year, 285,000 jobs were lost because of layoffs. As a result, monthly data on federal government employment were skewed by changes to the pool of temporary census workers. For example, the federal government added 256,000 jobs in August, and decennial census workers accounted for 238,000 of those gains. In all, excluding temporary workers tied to the 2020 census suggests that the federal government was one of the few industries that were not affected by the pandemic, adding an average of 4,000 jobs per month in 2020, up from 3,000 jobs added per month in 2019.

Education and health services

Employment in education and health services fell by 1.2 million in 2020. After peaking in February, employment in this industry dropped by 218,000 in March and 2.6 million in April. Prior to these losses, the largest decline in the industry had been a loss of 48,000 jobs in September 1989, and there had not been a single monthly job loss since September 2013.

Job losses were widespread across component industries, but the largest declines occurred in healthcare, 33 whose employment fell by a combined 1.6 million in March and April. (See chart 11.) This loss was concentrated in ambulatory healthcare services, whose employment fell by 1.4 million. (See chart 12.) This industry includes offices of physicians, dentists, home healthcare providers, and other healthcare practitioners. On March 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—the federal agency that administers Medicare—recommended that elective and nonemergency procedures be deferred in order to preserve protective equipment for pandemic-related care. 34 Some state governments issued similar guidance, and others specifically prohibited nonemergency care. 35 In response to these recommendations and restrictions, and to protect themselves and their employees, healthcare practitioners began to cancel nonemergency, elective medical procedures. In addition, state-issued stay-at-home orders further kept patients away from medical offices. Together, these factors led to steep declines in office visits, and these declines were followed by job cuts. 36 In April and May, however, 30 states relaxed guidance or began eliminating restrictions on elective and nonemergency care. 37 Patient visits to ambulatory care facilities began to rebound and, according to one survey, had recovered to prepandemic levels by October. 38 Employment also began to grow, with ambulatory healthcare services recovering 1.2 million, or 87 percent, of the jobs lost in March and April by the end of 2020. Offices of dentists had an especially strong rebound and, by the end of the year, recovered 99 percent of the 555,000 jobs lost in the spring. Facing many of the same conditions as ambulatory healthcare services, hospitals lost 165,000 jobs in March, April, and May, and the industry’s employment ended the year 63,000 below its February peak. 39

⁠

Chart 11. Employment in healthcare, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 13,677.1
Feb 2010 | 13,688.5
Mar 2010 | 13,720.7
Apr 2010 | 13,730.3
May 2010 | 13,747.9
Jun 2010 | 13,763.7
Jul 2010 | 13,781.6
Aug 2010 | 13,806.0
Sep 2010 | 13,812.9
Oct 2010 | 13,844.1
Nov 2010 | 13,869.3
Dec 2010 | 13,893.0
Jan 2011 | 13,899.6
Feb 2011 | 13,918.4
Mar 2011 | 13,945.3
Apr 2011 | 13,975.2
May 2011 | 13,989.1
Jun 2011 | 14,012.6
Jul 2011 | 14,042.2
Aug 2011 | 14,069.2
Sep 2011 | 14,100.1
Oct 2011 | 14,118.0
Nov 2011 | 14,125.1
Dec 2011 | 14,129.9
Jan 2012 | 14,164.4
Feb 2012 | 14,196.7
Mar 2012 | 14,218.7
Apr 2012 | 14,235.4
May 2012 | 14,263.1
Jun 2012 | 14,266.3
Jul 2012 | 14,283.5
Aug 2012 | 14,296.1
Sep 2012 | 14,325.2
Oct 2012 | 14,356.4
Nov 2012 | 14,364.8
Dec 2012 | 14,398.7
Jan 2013 | 14,413.9
Feb 2013 | 14,428.2
Mar 2013 | 14,446.8
Apr 2013 | 14,472.1
May 2013 | 14,471.3
Jun 2013 | 14,483.6
Jul 2013 | 14,484.2
Aug 2013 | 14,521.3
Sep 2013 | 14,518.3
Oct 2013 | 14,529.7
Nov 2013 | 14,547.9
Dec 2013 | 14,556.9
Jan 2014 | 14,555.5
Feb 2014 | 14,571.8
Mar 2014 | 14,594.6
Apr 2014 | 14,606.4
May 2014 | 14,637.5
Jun 2014 | 14,650.5
Jul 2014 | 14,670.6
Aug 2014 | 14,704.8
Sep 2014 | 14,729.5
Oct 2014 | 14,758.2
Nov 2014 | 14,794.6
Dec 2014 | 14,828.5
Jan 2015 | 14,868.5
Feb 2015 | 14,896.1
Mar 2015 | 14,917.3
Apr 2015 | 14,956.1
May 2015 | 14,998.7
Jun 2015 | 15,022.5
Jul 2015 | 15,061.9
Aug 2015 | 15,095.6
Sep 2015 | 15,122.3
Oct 2015 | 15,161.7
Nov 2015 | 15,184.7
Dec 2015 | 15,208.6
Jan 2016 | 15,244.2
Feb 2016 | 15,273.7
Mar 2016 | 15,298.7
Apr 2016 | 15,335.8
May 2016 | 15,372.9
Jun 2016 | 15,405.6
Jul 2016 | 15,442.8
Aug 2016 | 15,464.4
Sep 2016 | 15,492.2
Oct 2016 | 15,520.6
Nov 2016 | 15,542.5
Dec 2016 | 15,579.3
Jan 2017 | 15,591.6
Feb 2017 | 15,614.9
Mar 2017 | 15,628.1
Apr 2017 | 15,654.1
May 2017 | 15,671.3
Jun 2017 | 15,704.8
Jul 2017 | 15,743.7
Aug 2017 | 15,760.1
Sep 2017 | 15,777.3
Oct 2017 | 15,797.6
Nov 2017 | 15,812.1
Dec 2017 | 15,836.9
Jan 2018 | 15,857.4
Feb 2018 | 15,883.8
Mar 2018 | 15,899.8
Apr 2018 | 15,915.3
May 2018 | 15,940.2
Jun 2018 | 15,951.9
Jul 2018 | 15,960.4
Aug 2018 | 15,986.0
Sep 2018 | 16,003.9
Oct 2018 | 16,032.1
Nov 2018 | 16,042.9
Dec 2018 | 16,089.1
Jan 2019 | 16,116.5
Feb 2019 | 16,134.3
Mar 2019 | 16,174.6
Apr 2019 | 16,198.1
May 2019 | 16,216.7
Jun 2019 | 16,244.4
Jul 2019 | 16,274.9
Aug 2019 | 16,309.0
Sep 2019 | 16,350.9
Oct 2019 | 16,366.6
Nov 2019 | 16,404.2
Dec 2019 | 16,424.0
Jan 2020 | 16,460.2
Feb 2020 | 16,492.1
Mar 2020 | 16,397.4
Apr 2020 | 14,875.5
May 2020 | 15,187.0
Jun 2020 | 15,544.2
Jul 2020 | 15,686.2
Aug 2020 | 15,758.3
Sep 2020 | 15,835.9
Oct 2020 | 15,905.9
Nov 2020 | 15,935.4
Dec 2020 | 15,979.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 12. Employment change in healthcare, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, February–April and April–December 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | February–April | April–December
Ambulatory healthcare services | -1,350.3 | 1,175.3
Offices of physicians | -302.1 | 238.9
Offices of dentists | -554.6 | 547.2
Outpatient care centers | -81.7 | 82.4
Home healthcare services | -114.0 | 75.4
Hospitals | -128.7 | 66.0
Nursing and residential care facilities | -137.6 | -137.5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Employment in social assistance declined by 701,000 in the 2 months following its peak in February 2020. The largest declines occurred in child daycare services, 40 which lost 373,000 jobs. Daycare centers were subject to a variety of state and local closure orders, capacity restrictions, and newly instituted protective equipment requirements. 41 In addition, some states approved certain daycare centers to open, but allowed them to provide services only to frontline workers. 42 These measures led to enrollment declines that one source pegged at two-thirds. 43 At the same time, daycare providers faced increased costs from modifying their facilities to prevent COVID-19 transmission, and by July, 18 percent of childcare centers were closed. 44 By year’s end, child daycare services had recovered 54 percent of pandemic-related job losses.

Employment in individual and family services fell by 251,000 in March and April. Businesses in this industry provide nonmedical, nonresidential social assistance to children, young people, the elderly, people with disabilities, and all other individuals and families. Social-distancing requirements and funding shortfalls may have eliminated or hampered the operation of facilities such as drug-counseling centers, youth centers, and food banks. 45 State and local governments, facing falling revenue, cut back on payments to providers of individual and family services, and these providers responded with job cuts. By year’s end, this industry had recovered 52 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

Employment in nursing and residential care facilities fell by 271,000 in 2020. Although these job losses occurred throughout the year, they were greatest in April and May, at 179,000. This industry has long faced a shortage of qualified workers and high turnover, and, with the onset of the pandemic, nursing home staff faced the new and stressful prospect of becoming infected with COVID-19 at work. One study suggests that the prospect of infection was a reasonable fear, with nursing home employees representing one of the most dangerous occupations during the pandemic. 46 In addition, as of May, a third of all deaths from COVID-19 involved residents and workers at long-term care facilities. 47 These factors, along with layoffs, led to 2020 employment declines in all nursing and residential care industries. No component industry within nursing and residential care facilities recovered any of the jobs lost in March and April 2020.

Private educational services employment declined by 533,000 in the 3 months following its peak in January 2020. Within educational services, colleges and universities experienced eight monthly declines in 2020, losing 254,000 jobs by the end of the year. With campuses largely closed, and with enrollment declining, these institutions turned to layoffs to cut expenses. 48 The months of May, June, July, and August saw fewer layoffs than usual because workers had already been laid off as a result of the pandemic, and this led to employment gains in educational services (after seasonal adjustment). Educational services employment then continued to fall for the rest of the year, declining by 140,000 from August to December, largely because of fewer hires being brought on than normal for the beginning of the 2020–21 school year. By the end of 2020, educational services had recovered just 13 percent of the jobs lost in February, March, and April. 49

By the end of 2020, education and health services had recovered 54 percent of the 2.8 million jobs lost in March and April.

Professional and business services

Employment in professional and business services fell by 860,000 in 2020, with the industry losing 2.4 million jobs in March and April. (See chart 13.) Temporary help services, a component industry of administrative and waste services, accounted for 1.0 million of these job losses. (See chart 14.) Establishments in this industry supply temporary workers to business clients. Employment in temporary help services is a leading economic indicator, because, in tight business conditions, employers tend to stop using temporary help employees before laying off their own employees. In March and April, when state and local government pandemic-related restrictions led to mass business closures, the need for temporary help services declined, prompting employment declines. According to a survey conducted by the American Staffing Association, the pandemic was the primary reason for employment declines in temporary and contract staff. 50 However, when restrictions eased and businesses began to reopen, many of these workers were rehired as businesses added telework options or optimized resources by adopting hybrid schedules. 51 By the end of the year, temporary help services had recovered 68 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

⁠

Chart 13. Employment in professional and business services, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 16,572
Feb 2010 | 16,591
Mar 2010 | 16,574
Apr 2010 | 16,666
May 2010 | 16,702
Jun 2010 | 16,764
Jul 2010 | 16,773
Aug 2010 | 16,833
Sep 2010 | 16,850
Oct 2010 | 16,917
Nov 2010 | 17,011
Dec 2010 | 17,080
Jan 2011 | 17,091
Feb 2011 | 17,170
Mar 2011 | 17,235
Apr 2011 | 17,297
May 2011 | 17,348
Jun 2011 | 17,363
Jul 2011 | 17,371
Aug 2011 | 17,446
Sep 2011 | 17,510
Oct 2011 | 17,556
Nov 2011 | 17,591
Dec 2011 | 17,658
Jan 2012 | 17,745
Feb 2012 | 17,816
Mar 2012 | 17,848
Apr 2012 | 17,897
May 2012 | 17,922
Jun 2012 | 17,977
Jul 2012 | 18,020
Aug 2012 | 18,052
Sep 2012 | 18,066
Oct 2012 | 18,139
Nov 2012 | 18,193
Dec 2012 | 18,230
Jan 2013 | 18,273
Feb 2013 | 18,367
Mar 2013 | 18,421
Apr 2013 | 18,483
May 2013 | 18,537
Jun 2013 | 18,582
Jul 2013 | 18,629
Aug 2013 | 18,655
Sep 2013 | 18,683
Oct 2013 | 18,732
Nov 2013 | 18,801
Dec 2013 | 18,790
Jan 2014 | 18,837
Feb 2014 | 18,899
Mar 2014 | 18,944
Apr 2014 | 19,002
May 2014 | 19,044
Jun 2014 | 19,105
Jul 2014 | 19,142
Aug 2014 | 19,201
Sep 2014 | 19,257
Oct 2014 | 19,285
Nov 2014 | 19,339
Dec 2014 | 19,418
Jan 2015 | 19,442
Feb 2015 | 19,487
Mar 2015 | 19,513
Apr 2015 | 19,557
May 2015 | 19,638
Jun 2015 | 19,689
Jul 2015 | 19,726
Aug 2015 | 19,755
Sep 2015 | 19,778
Oct 2015 | 19,851
Nov 2015 | 19,885
Dec 2015 | 19,955
Jan 2016 | 19,965
Feb 2016 | 19,977
Mar 2016 | 19,999
Apr 2016 | 20,031
May 2016 | 20,035
Jun 2016 | 20,080
Jul 2016 | 20,126
Aug 2016 | 20,127
Sep 2016 | 20,194
Oct 2016 | 20,217
Nov 2016 | 20,255
Dec 2016 | 20,287
Jan 2017 | 20,338
Feb 2017 | 20,339
Mar 2017 | 20,376
Apr 2017 | 20,405
May 2017 | 20,460
Jun 2017 | 20,496
Jul 2017 | 20,540
Aug 2017 | 20,563
Sep 2017 | 20,565
Oct 2017 | 20,619
Nov 2017 | 20,646
Dec 2017 | 20,684
Jan 2018 | 20,743
Feb 2018 | 20,779
Mar 2018 | 20,822
Apr 2018 | 20,867
May 2018 | 20,911
Jun 2018 | 20,946
Jul 2018 | 20,966
Aug 2018 | 21,005
Sep 2018 | 21,041
Oct 2018 | 21,078
Nov 2018 | 21,099
Dec 2018 | 21,128
Jan 2019 | 21,134
Feb 2019 | 21,165
Mar 2019 | 21,173
Apr 2019 | 21,212
May 2019 | 21,230
Jun 2019 | 21,261
Jul 2019 | 21,291
Aug 2019 | 21,320
Sep 2019 | 21,340
Oct 2019 | 21,374
Nov 2019 | 21,405
Dec 2019 | 21,410
Jan 2020 | 21,437
Feb 2020 | 21,469
Mar 2020 | 21,318
Apr 2020 | 19,082
May 2020 | 19,247
Jun 2020 | 19,568
Jul 2020 | 19,715
Aug 2020 | 19,915
Sep 2020 | 20,055
Oct 2020 | 20,296
Nov 2020 | 20,391
Dec 2020 | 20,550
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 14. Employment in temporary help services, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 1,954.6
Feb 2010 | 1,965.5
Mar 2010 | 1,993.0
Apr 2010 | 2,021.7
May 2010 | 2,066.1
Jun 2010 | 2,093.8
Jul 2010 | 2,097.4
Aug 2010 | 2,118.0
Sep 2010 | 2,147.0
Oct 2010 | 2,180.5
Nov 2010 | 2,206.2
Dec 2010 | 2,259.2
Jan 2011 | 2,231.7
Feb 2011 | 2,266.0
Mar 2011 | 2,297.2
Apr 2011 | 2,292.2
May 2011 | 2,294.1
Jun 2011 | 2,282.2
Jul 2011 | 2,273.4
Aug 2011 | 2,314.5
Sep 2011 | 2,344.9
Oct 2011 | 2,363.1
Nov 2011 | 2,376.1
Dec 2011 | 2,404.3
Jan 2012 | 2,428.9
Feb 2012 | 2,470.9
Mar 2012 | 2,466.4
Apr 2012 | 2,472.5
May 2012 | 2,482.4
Jun 2012 | 2,505.9
Jul 2012 | 2,516.4
Aug 2012 | 2,519.9
Sep 2012 | 2,489.5
Oct 2012 | 2,516.3
Nov 2012 | 2,535.8
Dec 2012 | 2,539.4
Jan 2013 | 2,551.6
Feb 2013 | 2,568.2
Mar 2013 | 2,587.8
Apr 2013 | 2,600.9
May 2013 | 2,610.2
Jun 2013 | 2,622.8
Jul 2013 | 2,624.4
Aug 2013 | 2,634.0
Sep 2013 | 2,639.4
Oct 2013 | 2,640.6
Nov 2013 | 2,660.0
Dec 2013 | 2,685.2
Jan 2014 | 2,675.6
Feb 2014 | 2,702.7
Mar 2014 | 2,715.1
Apr 2014 | 2,726.9
May 2014 | 2,737.3
Jun 2014 | 2,751.2
Jul 2014 | 2,768.4
Aug 2014 | 2,787.3
Sep 2014 | 2,808.0
Oct 2014 | 2,808.8
Nov 2014 | 2,815.5
Dec 2014 | 2,833.3
Jan 2015 | 2,838.3
Feb 2015 | 2,839.1
Mar 2015 | 2,842.5
Apr 2015 | 2,850.3
May 2015 | 2,872.5
Jun 2015 | 2,885.1
Jul 2015 | 2,884.7
Aug 2015 | 2,887.3
Sep 2015 | 2,882.8
Oct 2015 | 2,895.0
Nov 2015 | 2,894.1
Dec 2015 | 2,932.0
Jan 2016 | 2,888.6
Feb 2016 | 2,885.5
Mar 2016 | 2,885.6
Apr 2016 | 2,878.8
May 2016 | 2,861.9
Jun 2016 | 2,877.9
Jul 2016 | 2,882.0
Aug 2016 | 2,878.7
Sep 2016 | 2,901.3
Oct 2016 | 2,894.6
Nov 2016 | 2,903.4
Dec 2016 | 2,906.8
Jan 2017 | 2,908.8
Feb 2017 | 2,898.0
Mar 2017 | 2,912.5
Apr 2017 | 2,906.6
May 2017 | 2,931.7
Jun 2017 | 2,946.8
Jul 2017 | 2,955.4
Aug 2017 | 2,957.9
Sep 2017 | 2,951.7
Oct 2017 | 2,960.3
Nov 2017 | 2,966.5
Dec 2017 | 2,963.6
Jan 2018 | 2,970.3
Feb 2018 | 2,984.7
Mar 2018 | 2,990.7
Apr 2018 | 2,995.3
May 2018 | 2,992.3
Jun 2018 | 2,986.8
Jul 2018 | 2,986.5
Aug 2018 | 2,988.2
Sep 2018 | 2,988.9
Oct 2018 | 2,993.1
Nov 2018 | 2,986.9
Dec 2018 | 2,988.5
Jan 2019 | 2,961.6
Feb 2019 | 2,962.4
Mar 2019 | 2,952.4
Apr 2019 | 2,951.9
May 2019 | 2,949.0
Jun 2019 | 2,945.4
Jul 2019 | 2,941.1
Aug 2019 | 2,945.1
Sep 2019 | 2,952.4
Oct 2019 | 2,946.7
Nov 2019 | 2,947.2
Dec 2019 | 2,952.4
Jan 2020 | 2,949.7
Feb 2020 | 2,944.8
Mar 2020 | 2,894.5
Apr 2020 | 1,946.8
May 2020 | 1,995.9
Jun 2020 | 2,147.1
Jul 2020 | 2,280.6
Aug 2020 | 2,380.0
Sep 2020 | 2,398.3
Oct 2020 | 2,519.5
Nov 2020 | 2,558.5
Dec 2020 | 2,620.6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Services to buildings and dwellings lost 273,000 jobs over March and April. Establishments in this industry provide services that include the exterior cleaning of buildings, swimming pool cleaning, housekeeping and washroom sanitation services, and drain and gutter cleaning. Like temporary help services, services to buildings and dwellings experienced employment declines and gains closely tied to the implementation and easing of pandemic-related restrictions. By the end of the year, the industry had recovered 77 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

Elsewhere in professional and business services, professional and technical services lost 545,000 jobs in March and April. Within professional and technical services, accounting and bookkeeping services lost 61,000 jobs, architectural and engineering services lost 69,000 jobs, computer systems design and related services lost 68,000 jobs, and management and technical consulting services lost 98,000 jobs. 52 These industries contain establishments providing technical services within their respective industry areas. By the end of 2020, about two-thirds of the jobs lost in professional and technical services had been recovered. The share of recovered jobs in major professional and technical services component industries was 49 percent in accounting and bookkeeping services, 70 percent in architectural and engineering services, 59 percent in computer systems design and related services, and 79 percent in management and technical consulting services.

Employment in management of companies and enterprises fell by 96,000 in March and April. This industry contains establishments engaged in influencing management decisions or managing the companies or enterprises that assume organizational planning and decision-making roles. Given the widespread employment declines across industries, it is unsurprising that management of companies and enterprises experienced strong declines; with so many business closures—and with employees either being laid off or staying at home—the need for the industry’s management services inevitably declined. By the end of 2020, the industry had recovered only 23 percent of the jobs lost in March and April. Employment in all professional and business services recovered 61 percent of the jobs lost over the same period.

Manufacturing

In 2020, manufacturing employment fell by 578,000, a decline of 5 percent. (See chart 15.) At the onset of the pandemic, in March and April, employment in manufacturing fell by 1.4 million, or 11 percent, despite some manufacturing facilities being a part of the “Critical Manufacturing Sector,” one of the infrastructure sectors deemed critical by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 53

⁠

Chart 15. Employment in manufacturing, seasonally adjusted, January 2000–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2000 | 17,284
Feb 2000 | 17,285
Mar 2000 | 17,302
Apr 2000 | 17,298
May 2000 | 17,279
Jun 2000 | 17,296
Jul 2000 | 17,322
Aug 2000 | 17,287
Sep 2000 | 17,230
Oct 2000 | 17,217
Nov 2000 | 17,202
Dec 2000 | 17,181
Jan 2001 | 17,104
Feb 2001 | 17,028
Mar 2001 | 16,938
Apr 2001 | 16,802
May 2001 | 16,661
Jun 2001 | 16,515
Jul 2001 | 16,382
Aug 2001 | 16,232
Sep 2001 | 16,117
Oct 2001 | 15,972
Nov 2001 | 15,825
Dec 2001 | 15,711
Jan 2002 | 15,587
Feb 2002 | 15,515
Mar 2002 | 15,443
Apr 2002 | 15,392
May 2002 | 15,337
Jun 2002 | 15,298
Jul 2002 | 15,256
Aug 2002 | 15,171
Sep 2002 | 15,119
Oct 2002 | 15,060
Nov 2002 | 14,992
Dec 2002 | 14,912
Jan 2003 | 14,866
Feb 2003 | 14,781
Mar 2003 | 14,721
Apr 2003 | 14,609
May 2003 | 14,557
Jun 2003 | 14,493
Jul 2003 | 14,402
Aug 2003 | 14,376
Sep 2003 | 14,347
Oct 2003 | 14,334
Nov 2003 | 14,316
Dec 2003 | 14,300
Jan 2004 | 14,290
Feb 2004 | 14,279
Mar 2004 | 14,287
Apr 2004 | 14,315
May 2004 | 14,342
Jun 2004 | 14,332
Jul 2004 | 14,330
Aug 2004 | 14,345
Sep 2004 | 14,331
Oct 2004 | 14,332
Nov 2004 | 14,307
Dec 2004 | 14,287
Jan 2005 | 14,257
Feb 2005 | 14,273
Mar 2005 | 14,269
Apr 2005 | 14,250
May 2005 | 14,256
Jun 2005 | 14,227
Jul 2005 | 14,226
Aug 2005 | 14,203
Sep 2005 | 14,175
Oct 2005 | 14,192
Nov 2005 | 14,187
Dec 2005 | 14,193
Jan 2006 | 14,210
Feb 2006 | 14,209
Mar 2006 | 14,214
Apr 2006 | 14,226
May 2006 | 14,203
Jun 2006 | 14,213
Jul 2006 | 14,188
Aug 2006 | 14,159
Sep 2006 | 14,125
Oct 2006 | 14,075
Nov 2006 | 14,041
Dec 2006 | 14,015
Jan 2007 | 14,008
Feb 2007 | 13,997
Mar 2007 | 13,970
Apr 2007 | 13,945
May 2007 | 13,929
Jun 2007 | 13,911
Jul 2007 | 13,889
Aug 2007 | 13,828
Sep 2007 | 13,790
Oct 2007 | 13,764
Nov 2007 | 13,757
Dec 2007 | 13,746
Jan 2008 | 13,725
Feb 2008 | 13,696
Mar 2008 | 13,659
Apr 2008 | 13,599
May 2008 | 13,564
Jun 2008 | 13,504
Jul 2008 | 13,430
Aug 2008 | 13,358
Sep 2008 | 13,275
Oct 2008 | 13,147
Nov 2008 | 13,034
Dec 2008 | 12,850
Jan 2009 | 12,561
Feb 2009 | 12,380
Mar 2009 | 12,208
Apr 2009 | 12,030
May 2009 | 11,862
Jun 2009 | 11,726
Jul 2009 | 11,668
Aug 2009 | 11,626
Sep 2009 | 11,591
Oct 2009 | 11,538
Nov 2009 | 11,509
Dec 2009 | 11,475
Jan 2010 | 11,460
Feb 2010 | 11,453
Mar 2010 | 11,453
Apr 2010 | 11,489
May 2010 | 11,525
Jun 2010 | 11,545
Jul 2010 | 11,561
Aug 2010 | 11,553
Sep 2010 | 11,563
Oct 2010 | 11,562
Nov 2010 | 11,585
Dec 2010 | 11,595
Jan 2011 | 11,621
Feb 2011 | 11,654
Mar 2011 | 11,675
Apr 2011 | 11,704
May 2011 | 11,713
Jun 2011 | 11,727
Jul 2011 | 11,746
Aug 2011 | 11,764
Sep 2011 | 11,769
Oct 2011 | 11,780
Nov 2011 | 11,770
Dec 2011 | 11,802
Jan 2012 | 11,838
Feb 2012 | 11,860
Mar 2012 | 11,898
Apr 2012 | 11,916
May 2012 | 11,927
Jun 2012 | 11,936
Jul 2012 | 11,964
Aug 2012 | 11,960
Sep 2012 | 11,954
Oct 2012 | 11,961
Nov 2012 | 11,950
Dec 2012 | 11,960
Jan 2013 | 11,983
Feb 2013 | 11,996
Mar 2013 | 11,999
Apr 2013 | 12,000
May 2013 | 12,000
Jun 2013 | 12,004
Jul 2013 | 11,984
Aug 2013 | 12,014
Sep 2013 | 12,032
Oct 2013 | 12,056
Nov 2013 | 12,079
Dec 2013 | 12,083
Jan 2014 | 12,081
Feb 2014 | 12,106
Mar 2014 | 12,120
Apr 2014 | 12,134
May 2014 | 12,146
Jun 2014 | 12,170
Jul 2014 | 12,189
Aug 2014 | 12,208
Sep 2014 | 12,226
Oct 2014 | 12,259
Nov 2014 | 12,284
Dec 2014 | 12,292
Jan 2015 | 12,292
Feb 2015 | 12,301
Mar 2015 | 12,312
Apr 2015 | 12,318
May 2015 | 12,333
Jun 2015 | 12,334
Jul 2015 | 12,349
Aug 2015 | 12,345
Sep 2015 | 12,354
Oct 2015 | 12,362
Nov 2015 | 12,357
Dec 2015 | 12,362
Jan 2016 | 12,383
Feb 2016 | 12,365
Mar 2016 | 12,342
Apr 2016 | 12,353
May 2016 | 12,332
Jun 2016 | 12,350
Jul 2016 | 12,372
Aug 2016 | 12,348
Sep 2016 | 12,347
Oct 2016 | 12,345
Nov 2016 | 12,342
Dec 2016 | 12,355
Jan 2017 | 12,367
Feb 2017 | 12,382
Mar 2017 | 12,393
Apr 2017 | 12,405
May 2017 | 12,406
Jun 2017 | 12,418
Jul 2017 | 12,419
Aug 2017 | 12,460
Sep 2017 | 12,470
Oct 2017 | 12,491
Nov 2017 | 12,510
Dec 2017 | 12,539
Jan 2018 | 12,559
Feb 2018 | 12,589
Mar 2018 | 12,610
Apr 2018 | 12,636
May 2018 | 12,657
Jun 2018 | 12,686
Jul 2018 | 12,707
Aug 2018 | 12,719
Sep 2018 | 12,740
Oct 2018 | 12,764
Nov 2018 | 12,779
Dec 2018 | 12,802
Jan 2019 | 12,828
Feb 2019 | 12,830
Mar 2019 | 12,826
Apr 2019 | 12,825
May 2019 | 12,817
Jun 2019 | 12,822
Jul 2019 | 12,820
Aug 2019 | 12,820
Sep 2019 | 12,814
Oct 2019 | 12,769
Nov 2019 | 12,818
Dec 2019 | 12,809
Jan 2020 | 12,792
Feb 2020 | 12,799
Mar 2020 | 12,718
Apr 2020 | 11,414
May 2020 | 11,657
Jun 2020 | 11,999
Jul 2020 | 12,037
Aug 2020 | 12,068
Sep 2020 | 12,123
Oct 2020 | 12,155
Nov 2020 | 12,196
Dec 2020 | 12,231
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Manufacturing job losses were concentrated in durable goods manufacturing industries, which accounted for 68 percent of the job losses in March and April. Transportation equipment manufacturing was the durable goods industry with the greatest employment decline, losing 403,000 jobs over March and April. Most of this decline (89 percent) came in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing, which lost 360,000 jobs. This job loss coincided with a steep drop in motor vehicle production, which fell by 99 percent over the same period, as automakers largely shuttered factories. 54 (See chart 16.) These declines, however, were offset after just a few months, as production resumed and auto sales surged in late spring. 55 In response to these developments, employment in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing rebounded quickly, and by the end of the year, the industry recovered 285,000, or 79 percent, of the jobs lost because of the pandemic.

⁠

Chart 16. Over-the-month employment change in motor vehicles and parts, and domestic auto production, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020

Date | Employment change (thousands) | Auto production (thousands of units)
Jan 2018 | 2.1 | 217.0
Feb 2018 | 6.7 | 242.7
Mar 2018 | 4.7 | 255.7
Apr 2018 | 1.6 | 249.7
May 2018 | -6.5 | 229.4
Jun 2018 | 6.7 | 220.6
Jul 2018 | -1.1 | 195.8
Aug 2018 | 2.8 | 213.2
Sep 2018 | 4.2 | 229.4
Oct 2018 | 7.3 | 236.0
Nov 2018 | -1.0 | 234.5
Dec 2018 | 1.2 | 257.0
Jan 2019 | 0.0 | 233.0
Feb 2019 | 1.5 | 215.4
Mar 2019 | -7.0 | 203.8
Apr 2019 | -3.2 | 205.3
May 2019 | -1.1 | 210.9
Jun 2019 | -2.3 | 207.4
Jul 2019 | -5.0 | 210.3
Aug 2019 | -1.7 | 213.8
Sep 2019 | -0.9 | 200.0
Oct 2019 | -45.6 | 183.9
Nov 2019 | 41.0 | 215.1
Dec 2019 | -0.5 | 210.4
Jan 2020 | -9.9 | 218.1
Feb 2020 | 10.3 | 217.8
Mar 2020 | -7.3 | 144.9
Apr 2020 | -352.6 | 1.7
May 2020 | 37.6 | 48.6
Jun 2020 | 187.1 | 140.7
Jul 2020 | 43.7 | 216.0
Aug 2020 | -4.1 | 196.0
Sep 2020 | 5.1 | 196.8
Oct 2020 | -6.5 | 189.0
Nov 2020 | 17.7 | 189.8
Dec 2020 | 3.9 | 179.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Nondurable goods employment fell by 440,000 in March and April. Although these losses were spread across component industries, the largest decline occurred in food manufacturing, which lost 111,000 jobs over this time. The pandemic caused at least 30 meatpacking plants to temporarily close, which resulted in a 40-percent drop in pork production capacity and a 25-percent drop in beef production capacity, alarming the public about the nation’s food supply. In addition, news reports stated that tens of thousands of meatpacking workers were contracting COVID-19, with some dying from the disease, further exacerbating public concerns. 56 Employees returned to work in food manufacturing, as 83,000, or 74 percent, of the jobs lost in March and April were recovered in the industry by the end of 2020.

Employment declines in nondurable goods manufacturing also occurred in the printing and related support activities industry, in which pandemic-related economic impacts reduced demand for printing and resulted in a loss of 78,000 jobs in March and April. Employment in plastics and rubber products manufacturing fell by 70,000 in March and April, and employment in miscellaneous nondurable goods manufacturing fell by 58,000. Smaller employment declines were spread throughout the remaining nondurable goods manufacturing industries. After the initial effects of the pandemic subsided, nondurable goods manufacturing employment rebounded, recovering 64 percent of its pandemic-related job losses by the end of the year. As employees returned to work in both durable and nondurable goods industries, manufacturing recovered 817,000 jobs, or 59 percent, of the jobs lost in March and April.

Retail trade

In 2020, employment in retail trade fell by 459,000, a decline of 3 percent. (See chart 17.) Retail trade had been in a period of slow employment decline even before the pandemic, losing about 8,000 jobs per month between an employment peak in January 2017 and February 2020. In March and April, however, retail trade employment plummeted, falling by 2.4 million, or 15 percent, with losses coming in all component industries. Over the same period, retail sales declined by 17 percent. 57 In terms of both sales and employment, the largest declines were in industries selling nonessential products whose purchase could easily be deferred. Among these industries were clothing and clothing accessories stores; motor vehicle and parts dealers; miscellaneous store retailers; sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores; and furniture and home furnishings stores. In March and April, the greatest job losses occurred in clothing and clothing accessories stores, which lost 781,000 jobs, an employment decline of 61 percent. (See chart 18.) Many people, especially those working from home, deferred new clothing purchases, and, most importantly, clothing and clothing accessories stores were classified as nonessential in state shutdown orders. Over March and April, these factors led to a decline of 87 percent in retail sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores. 58 (See chart 19.) Shutdown orders were largely lifted by late spring, and although sales experienced a healthy rebound by year’s end, only 63 percent of the jobs lost in the industry were recovered by December.

⁠

Chart 17. Over-the-month employment change in retail trade, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment change
Jan 2018 | -22.5
Feb 2018 | 34.6
Mar 2018 | 14.0
Apr 2018 | -0.8
May 2018 | 10.6
Jun 2018 | -38.7
Jul 2018 | -10.3
Aug 2018 | -9.2
Sep 2018 | -41.9
Oct 2018 | -30.5
Nov 2018 | 11.7
Dec 2018 | -17.7
Jan 2019 | -11.8
Feb 2019 | -29.8
Mar 2019 | -22.5
Apr 2019 | -17.9
May 2019 | -14.9
Jun 2019 | -10.0
Jul 2019 | -3.0
Aug 2019 | -19.3
Sep 2019 | 8.4
Oct 2019 | 23.9
Nov 2019 | -32.4
Dec 2019 | 43.1
Jan 2020 | -13.9
Feb 2020 | 4.6
Mar 2020 | -126.2
Apr 2020 | -2248.3
May 2020 | 408.8
Jun 2020 | 858.7
Jul 2020 | 240.1
Aug 2020 | 252.9
Sep 2020 | 29.5
Oct 2020 | 106.5
Nov 2020 | -2.1
Dec 2020 | 30.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 18. Employment change in retail trade, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, February–April and April–December 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | February–April | April–December
Motor vehicle and parts dealers | -381.3 | 291.1
Furniture and home furnishings stores | -219.3 | 181.1
Electronics and appliance stores | -48.5 | 10.5
Building material and garden supply stores | -24.9 | 158.5
Food and beverage stores | -45.1 | 115.3
Health and personal care stores | -111.3 | 38.9
Gasoline stations | -50.4 | 34.0
Clothing and clothing accessories stores | -780.9 | 489.3
Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores | -220.7 | 118.6
Miscellaneous store retailers | -285.8 | 206.7
Nonstore retailers | -37.6 | 63.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 19. Over-the-month employment change and retail sales in clothing and clothing accessories stores, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020

Date | Employment change (thousands) | Retail sales (billions of dollars)
Jan 2018 | 1.5 | $21.8
Feb 2018 | 6.8 | 22.4
Mar 2018 | 0.4 | 21.7
Apr 2018 | -4.2 | 22.0
May 2018 | 7.6 | 22.9
Jun 2018 | -1.6 | 22.3
Jul 2018 | 5.1 | 22.7
Aug 2018 | -20.2 | 22.1
Sep 2018 | -1.2 | 22.1
Oct 2018 | -7.3 | 22.5
Nov 2018 | -0.4 | 22.5
Dec 2018 | -8.6 | 22.0
Jan 2019 | -2.5 | 22.0
Feb 2019 | -4.0 | 22.0
Mar 2019 | -7.9 | 22.4
Apr 2019 | -7.0 | 22.4
May 2019 | -14.0 | 22.2
Jun 2019 | -5.3 | 22.4
Jul 2019 | -5.1 | 22.5
Aug 2019 | -5.5 | 22.4
Sep 2019 | -12.7 | 22.4
Oct 2019 | -4.0 | 22.4
Nov 2019 | -35.5 | 22.3
Dec 2019 | 42.1 | 22.9
Jan 2020 | -0.4 | 22.9
Feb 2020 | -2.1 | 22.6
Mar 2020 | -29.7 | 11.5
Apr 2020 | -751.2 | 2.8
May 2020 | 86.4 | 8.5
Jun 2020 | 233.1 | 17.7
Jul 2020 | 111.8 | 18.1
Aug 2020 | 9.9 | 18.6
Sep 2020 | 28.5 | 21.4
Oct 2020 | 18.5 | 20.8
Nov 2020 | -11.1 | 19.6
Dec 2020 | 12.2 | 20.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Census Bureau.

In March and April, employment in motor vehicle and parts dealers fell by 381,000, or 19 percent. This job loss coincided with a decline in total vehicle sales, which fell by 47 percent. 59 (See chart 20.) Social distancing upended traditional aspects of selling vehicles, such as in-person test drives and meetings with salespersons in showrooms. In addition, automobile factory shutdowns limited inventory and led to shortages of new vehicles. Motor vehicles and parts dealers worked to get customers back in their doors, advertising pandemic-safe sales floors or allowing fully online vehicle purchases with flexible return policies. As factories reopened, vehicle sales rebounded because of pent-up demand and an increasing preference for car ownership among urban consumers desiring social distancing and a pandemic-safe means of transportation. 60 By year’s end, vehicle sales had rebounded by 84 percent, and motor vehicle and parts dealers had recovered 76 percent of the jobs lost in March and April. 61

⁠

Chart 20. Over-the-month employment change in motor vehicle and parts dealers, and total vehicle sales, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020

Date | Employment change (thousands) | Total vehicle sales (millions of units)
Jan 2018 | 2.2 | 17.6
Feb 2018 | 1.0 | 17.6
Mar 2018 | -0.8 | 17.7
Apr 2018 | -1.8 | 17.8
May 2018 | 0.2 | 17.7
Jun 2018 | 1.8 | 17.7
Jul 2018 | 3.8 | 17.4
Aug 2018 | -0.6 | 17.3
Sep 2018 | -0.7 | 17.8
Oct 2018 | 5.2 | 18.2
Nov 2018 | -5.6 | 17.9
Dec 2018 | 5.2 | 18.0
Jan 2019 | -2.0 | 17.3
Feb 2019 | 1.1 | 17.1
Mar 2019 | 1.6 | 17.8
Apr 2019 | 5.0 | 17.2
May 2019 | -0.9 | 17.9
Jun 2019 | -1.8 | 17.7
Jul 2019 | -0.3 | 17.5
Aug 2019 | 4.0 | 17.6
Sep 2019 | 2.9 | 17.7
Oct 2019 | 0.3 | 17.3
Nov 2019 | 5.5 | 17.4
Dec 2019 | 1.6 | 17.3
Jan 2020 | 6.7 | 17.3
Feb 2020 | -0.6 | 17.2
Mar 2020 | -18.3 | 11.8
Apr 2020 | -363.0 | 9.1
May 2020 | 86.0 | 12.4
Jun 2020 | 102.7 | 13.4
Jul 2020 | 22.1 | 15.0
Aug 2020 | 31.3 | 15.5
Sep 2020 | 13.1 | 16.7
Oct 2020 | 17.7 | 16.8
Nov 2020 | 5.9 | 16.2
Dec 2020 | 12.3 | 16.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The other component industries of retail trade experienced variable job gains from April to December. Furniture and home furnishings stores recovered 83 percent of the jobs lost in March and April, whereas health and personal care stores recovered only 35 percent of the jobs lost in those 2 months. Some industries were able to fully recover their losses and continue to grow. For example, food and beverage stores ended 2020 with a 256-percent recovery, an unsurprising gain given that grocery stores fall within this industry group. Considered essential during state and local shutdowns—and helped by consumer avoidance of restaurants in an effort to maintain social distancing—grocery stores benefitted from considerable demand increases during the pandemic. 62 In fact, fearing scarcity amid COVID-19 lockdowns and panic buying, consumers rushed to grocery stores, causing demand to exceed supply. 63 Items in high demand included meat, eggs, milk, and toilet paper.

Building material and garden supply stores added 159,000 jobs between April and December, more than 6 times the industry’s modest loss of 25,000 jobs during March and April. In fact, the industry thrived during the pandemic. Its stores were classified as essential businesses in state and local shutdowns, and they benefitted from a trend called “nesting,” whereby homebound consumers focus on renovating and upgrading their living spaces. This trend resulted in substantial revenue gains at large building materials retailers, helping the industry weather the pandemic. 64 Overall, by the end of 2020, retail trade had recovered 81 percent of its March and April job losses.

Much attention has been paid to increases in online retail sales during the pandemic, as consumers shifted to this shopping method in order to maintain social distancing. Web, catalog, and mail-order retailers are classified in the electronic shopping and mail-order houses industry, which experienced a small employment decline early in the pandemic, followed by a robust recovery. It is important to note, however, that much of the employment change resulting from increased online sales likely is not captured in this industry. As mentioned later in this article, establishments engaged in fulfillment activities for web retailers are likely classified in the transportation and warehousing industry.

Other services

Employment in the other services industry fell by 450,000, or 8 percent, in 2020. After reaching a peak in February, employment dropped by 1.4 million, or 24 percent, in March and April. (See chart 21.) This loss was heavily concentrated in the personal and laundry services industry, whose employment fell by 884,000, or 56 percent, in March and April. These losses occurred primarily in the personal care services industry, which includes businesses such as barber shops, beauty and nail salons, and tattoo parlors. What characterizes many of these businesses is that they involve close personal contact with customers. As such, they were among the businesses most hurt by state shutdown orders, indoor capacity limits, and customer avoidance of close personal contact. In March and April, employment in barber shops and beauty salons declined by 375,000, or 82 percent, and employment in nail salons declined by 119,000, or 91 percent. (See chart 22.) Over the same time, employment declined by 122,000, or 70 percent, in other personal care services, a miscellaneous category that includes everything from tattoo parlors to massage parlors to ear piercing services. Given its scope, the personal care services industry provided services that customers seemed to miss the most at the onset of the pandemic. As a result of this consumer need, component industries in personal care services experienced the most rapid employment recovery within the other services industry.

⁠

Chart 21. Employment in other services, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 5,323
Feb 2010 | 5,316
Mar 2010 | 5,329
Apr 2010 | 5,335
May 2010 | 5,330
Jun 2010 | 5,315
Jul 2010 | 5,326
Aug 2010 | 5,323
Sep 2010 | 5,332
Oct 2010 | 5,357
Nov 2010 | 5,346
Dec 2010 | 5,337
Jan 2011 | 5,327
Feb 2011 | 5,337
Mar 2011 | 5,333
Apr 2011 | 5,342
May 2011 | 5,346
Jun 2011 | 5,352
Jul 2011 | 5,359
Aug 2011 | 5,376
Sep 2011 | 5,381
Oct 2011 | 5,382
Nov 2011 | 5,390
Dec 2011 | 5,403
Jan 2012 | 5,414
Feb 2012 | 5,415
Mar 2012 | 5,422
Apr 2012 | 5,417
May 2012 | 5,417
Jun 2012 | 5,424
Jul 2012 | 5,433
Aug 2012 | 5,431
Sep 2012 | 5,442
Oct 2012 | 5,446
Nov 2012 | 5,449
Dec 2012 | 5,452
Jan 2013 | 5,458
Feb 2013 | 5,456
Mar 2013 | 5,451
Apr 2013 | 5,455
May 2013 | 5,470
Jun 2013 | 5,480
Jul 2013 | 5,483
Aug 2013 | 5,494
Sep 2013 | 5,502
Oct 2013 | 5,509
Nov 2013 | 5,513
Dec 2013 | 5,525
Jan 2014 | 5,533
Feb 2014 | 5,535
Mar 2014 | 5,553
Apr 2014 | 5,565
May 2014 | 5,566
Jun 2014 | 5,563
Jul 2014 | 5,565
Aug 2014 | 5,580
Sep 2014 | 5,575
Oct 2014 | 5,582
Nov 2014 | 5,590
Dec 2014 | 5,592
Jan 2015 | 5,600
Feb 2015 | 5,605
Mar 2015 | 5,607
Apr 2015 | 5,614
May 2015 | 5,623
Jun 2015 | 5,617
Jul 2015 | 5,629
Aug 2015 | 5,620
Sep 2015 | 5,621
Oct 2015 | 5,630
Nov 2015 | 5,638
Dec 2015 | 5,653
Jan 2016 | 5,649
Feb 2016 | 5,665
Mar 2016 | 5,673
Apr 2016 | 5,679
May 2016 | 5,670
Jun 2016 | 5,681
Jul 2016 | 5,689
Aug 2016 | 5,702
Sep 2016 | 5,713
Oct 2016 | 5,719
Nov 2016 | 5,729
Dec 2016 | 5,714
Jan 2017 | 5,731
Feb 2017 | 5,742
Mar 2017 | 5,744
Apr 2017 | 5,748
May 2017 | 5,759
Jun 2017 | 5,767
Jul 2017 | 5,775
Aug 2017 | 5,781
Sep 2017 | 5,774
Oct 2017 | 5,796
Nov 2017 | 5,805
Dec 2017 | 5,805
Jan 2018 | 5,810
Feb 2018 | 5,814
Mar 2018 | 5,812
Apr 2018 | 5,819
May 2018 | 5,831
Jun 2018 | 5,844
Jul 2018 | 5,831
Aug 2018 | 5,834
Sep 2018 | 5,838
Oct 2018 | 5,846
Nov 2018 | 5,842
Dec 2018 | 5,849
Jan 2019 | 5,852
Feb 2019 | 5,853
Mar 2019 | 5,868
Apr 2019 | 5,884
May 2019 | 5,878
Jun 2019 | 5,894
Jul 2019 | 5,904
Aug 2019 | 5,909
Sep 2019 | 5,904
Oct 2019 | 5,903
Nov 2019 | 5,916
Dec 2019 | 5,919
Jan 2020 | 5,930
Feb 2020 | 5,937
Mar 2020 | 5,842
Apr 2020 | 4,527
May 2020 | 4,777
Jun 2020 | 5,153
Jul 2020 | 5,316
Aug 2020 | 5,390
Sep 2020 | 5,440
Oct 2020 | 5,488
Nov 2020 | 5,485
Dec 2020 | 5,469
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

⁠

Chart 22. Personal care services employment indexed to employment peak, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, November 2019–December 2020 (February 2020 = 100)

Date | Barber shops and beauty salons | Nail salons | Other personal care services
Nov 2019 | 100 | 96 | 99
Dec 2019 | 100 | 97 | 99
Jan 2020 | 100 | 99 | 99
Feb 2020 | 100 | 100 | 100
Mar 2020 | 95 | 92 | 97
Apr 2020 | 18 | 9 | 30
May 2020 | 36 | 28 | 45
Jun 2020 | 72 | 53 | 67
Jul 2020 | 83 | 84 | 79
Aug 2020 | 83 | 92 | 81
Sep 2020 | 84 | 95 | 80
Oct 2020 | 85 | 96 | 83
Nov 2020 | 84 | 95 | 85
Dec 2020 | 83 | 92 | 84
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Employment in personal care services began to recover in May, with most component industries seeing job growth throughout the summer and into the fall. The job gains were tied to reopening guidelines issued by state and local jurisdictions, and the approaches taken by states and localities varied widely. For example, Oklahoma fully reopened personal care businesses on April 24, whereas New York City allowed those businesses to reopen at 50-percent capacity on July 6. 65 However, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and a reinstitution of government restrictions in the last 2 months of the year, businesses requiring close personal contact lost jobs again because of renewed closures or capacity limitations. Despite these restrictions, by December, barber shops and beauty salons had recovered 79 percent of their March and April job losses, nails salons had recovered 92 percent, and other personal care services had recovered 77 percent.

Membership associations and organizations—the largest industry in other services—lost 279,000 jobs in March and April, an employment decline of 9 percent. These losses occurred primarily in civic and social organizations, an industry that includes charitable organizations, business associations, and trade unions. Early pandemic-related employment declines were concentrated in civic and social organizations, examples of which include fraternal lodges, social clubs, and ethnic associations. Many of these organizations operate bars and restaurants for their members and, like establishments in the leisure and hospitality industry, were affected by closure orders and general public wariness about social gatherings. In March and April, employment in civic and social organizations fell by 208,000, or 53 percent. The industry’s subsequent employment recovery lagged that of other component industries in other services. Civic and social organizations often engage in social advocacy, fundraising, and other similar activities, but their dependence on public assistance and donations makes them vulnerable to economic downturns. The industry’s employment gains began in May and lasted through October, with the last 2 months of the year seeing renewed job losses alongside a resurgence in COVID-19 cases across the United States. By the end of the year, civic and social organizations had recovered just 38 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

Employment in the repair and maintenance industry fell by 248,000, or 18 percent, in March and April. Most of these job losses occurred in the automotive repair and maintenance industry, which lost 191,000 jobs, an employment decline of 20 percent. The general economic decline associated with the pandemic, including stay-at-home orders and business closures, drove down vehicular traffic, reduced the need for repairs related to normal wear and tear and car accidents, and caused businesses to defer routine maintenance on their vehicles. 66 However, these negative impacts proved short lived and did not have a lasting effect on employment. By the end of 2020, 79 percent of the jobs lost in the automotive repair and maintenance industry had been recovered. Overall, by the end of the year, the other services industry was able to recover 942,000, or 67 percent, of the jobs lost in March and April.

Wholesale trade

Employment in wholesale trade fell by 409,000 in March and April, but it was down by 282,000 at the end of the year. (See chart 23.) The March and April job losses were divided among wholesale trade’s durable and nondurable goods component industries, which lost 207,000 jobs and 164,000 jobs, respectively. These losses were spread across more detailed component industries, but the greatest job loss came in the grocery and related products industry, which lost 65,000 jobs over March and April. The pandemic disrupted supply chains associated with this industry, resulting in shortages of groceries at retail establishments. 67 Supply-chain disruptions also decreased demand for wholesalers to fulfill orders to certain sectors hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and this led to employment declines. Even as fears of contracting COVID-19 subsided for some, and as state and local government restrictions eased, only 23 percent of the jobs lost in the grocery and related products industry were recovered by the end of the year. In addition, wholesalers were affected by increased sales by businesses directly to consumers, because these sales bypassed wholesale intermediaries. 68

⁠

Chart 23. Employment in wholesale trade, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 5,390.2
Feb 2010 | 5,379.3
Mar 2010 | 5,378.8
Apr 2010 | 5,378.5
May 2010 | 5,375.0
Jun 2010 | 5,379.3
Jul 2010 | 5,380.9
Aug 2010 | 5,382.6
Sep 2010 | 5,388.5
Oct 2010 | 5,396.1
Nov 2010 | 5,401.6
Dec 2010 | 5,408.3
Jan 2011 | 5,414.8
Feb 2011 | 5,427.5
Mar 2011 | 5,443.9
Apr 2011 | 5,456.7
May 2011 | 5,462.6
Jun 2011 | 5,470.5
Jul 2011 | 5,478.6
Aug 2011 | 5,488.1
Sep 2011 | 5,492.6
Oct 2011 | 5,507.5
Nov 2011 | 5,515.0
Dec 2011 | 5,534.7
Jan 2012 | 5,550.3
Feb 2012 | 5,562.4
Mar 2012 | 5,568.8
Apr 2012 | 5,582.7
May 2012 | 5,593.2
Jun 2012 | 5,598.9
Jul 2012 | 5,609.8
Aug 2012 | 5,609.7
Sep 2012 | 5,606.7
Oct 2012 | 5,617.3
Nov 2012 | 5,620.6
Dec 2012 | 5,626.6
Jan 2013 | 5,640.3
Feb 2013 | 5,643.4
Mar 2013 | 5,645.6
Apr 2013 | 5,645.4
May 2013 | 5,650.1
Jun 2013 | 5,655.8
Jul 2013 | 5,662.9
Aug 2013 | 5,669.0
Sep 2013 | 5,681.8
Oct 2013 | 5,669.9
Nov 2013 | 5,681.3
Dec 2013 | 5,687.1
Jan 2014 | 5,702.5
Feb 2014 | 5,708.7
Mar 2014 | 5,713.8
Apr 2014 | 5,728.4
May 2014 | 5,735.2
Jun 2014 | 5,746.4
Jul 2014 | 5,749.3
Aug 2014 | 5,747.4
Sep 2014 | 5,754.7
Oct 2014 | 5,757.2
Nov 2014 | 5,760.2
Dec 2014 | 5,767.8
Jan 2015 | 5,768.8
Feb 2015 | 5,781.1
Mar 2015 | 5,782.9
Apr 2015 | 5,779.3
May 2015 | 5,786.8
Jun 2015 | 5,784.5
Jul 2015 | 5,785.0
Aug 2015 | 5,785.4
Sep 2015 | 5,775.8
Oct 2015 | 5,777.3
Nov 2015 | 5,778.2
Dec 2015 | 5,776.5
Jan 2016 | 5,778.0
Feb 2016 | 5,776.9
Mar 2016 | 5,779.9
Apr 2016 | 5,785.1
May 2016 | 5,783.5
Jun 2016 | 5,779.8
Jul 2016 | 5,781.3
Aug 2016 | 5,784.2
Sep 2016 | 5,796.1
Oct 2016 | 5,797.5
Nov 2016 | 5,800.3
Dec 2016 | 5,796.9
Jan 2017 | 5,800.9
Feb 2017 | 5,803.6
Mar 2017 | 5,807.3
Apr 2017 | 5,810.9
May 2017 | 5,806.3
Jun 2017 | 5,813.3
Jul 2017 | 5,814.2
Aug 2017 | 5,813.2
Sep 2017 | 5,815.9
Oct 2017 | 5,820.9
Nov 2017 | 5,821.7
Dec 2017 | 5,826.6
Jan 2018 | 5,820.9
Feb 2018 | 5,823.5
Mar 2018 | 5,836.9
Apr 2018 | 5,815.9
May 2018 | 5,819.1
Jun 2018 | 5,825.6
Jul 2018 | 5,837.2
Aug 2018 | 5,856.9
Sep 2018 | 5,854.0
Oct 2018 | 5,856.5
Nov 2018 | 5,865.0
Dec 2018 | 5,872.1
Jan 2019 | 5,877.7
Feb 2019 | 5,885.1
Mar 2019 | 5,881.5
Apr 2019 | 5,889.0
May 2019 | 5,889.7
Jun 2019 | 5,886.8
Jul 2019 | 5,890.0
Aug 2019 | 5,887.3
Sep 2019 | 5,889.6
Oct 2019 | 5,895.3
Nov 2019 | 5,893.4
Dec 2019 | 5,899.1
Jan 2020 | 5,901.1
Feb 2020 | 5,895.2
Mar 2020 | 5,876.6
Apr 2020 | 5,486.0
May 2020 | 5,508.6
Jun 2020 | 5,556.9
Jul 2020 | 5,537.4
Aug 2020 | 5,544.5
Sep 2020 | 5,578.4
Oct 2020 | 5,587.6
Nov 2020 | 5,602.4
Dec 2020 | 5,617.2
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

By the end of 2020, durable goods wholesalers recovered 30 percent of their March and April job losses, while nondurable goods wholesalers recovered 39 percent. In total, wholesale trade recovered 32 percent of its March and April job losses by the end of the year.

Information

Information employment declined by 238,000, or 8 percent, in 2020. (See chart 24.) After reaching an employment peak in February, information industries shed 322,000 jobs through July, an employment decline of 11 percent. This decline was most heavily concentrated in the motion picture and sound recording industries, which lost 231,000 jobs over this period. This industry group includes businesses that produce and distribute sound recordings, as well as those which produce, distribute, and exhibit motion pictures and videos. Amid stay-at-home orders and other state and local restrictions, television and movie production was largely shut down in the early months of the pandemic. Production was canceled indefinitely for many television shows and movies, and many major production companies postponed premiere dates of already completed projects. 69 However, as state and local restrictions eased, production resumed, and by the end of the year, motion picture and sound recording industries—as well as the entire information industry—recovered 21 percent of the jobs lost from February to July.

⁠

Chart 24. Employment in information, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 2,737
Feb 2010 | 2,737
Mar 2010 | 2,718
Apr 2010 | 2,715
May 2010 | 2,709
Jun 2010 | 2,703
Jul 2010 | 2,703
Aug 2010 | 2,702
Sep 2010 | 2,697
Oct 2010 | 2,695
Nov 2010 | 2,689
Dec 2010 | 2,682
Jan 2011 | 2,678
Feb 2011 | 2,673
Mar 2011 | 2,672
Apr 2011 | 2,674
May 2011 | 2,679
Jun 2011 | 2,685
Jul 2011 | 2,676
Aug 2011 | 2,634
Sep 2011 | 2,677
Oct 2011 | 2,677
Nov 2011 | 2,676
Dec 2011 | 2,678
Jan 2012 | 2,665
Feb 2012 | 2,676
Mar 2012 | 2,678
Apr 2012 | 2,679
May 2012 | 2,685
Jun 2012 | 2,674
Jul 2012 | 2,680
Aug 2012 | 2,676
Sep 2012 | 2,670
Oct 2012 | 2,667
Nov 2012 | 2,674
Dec 2012 | 2,675
Jan 2013 | 2,661
Feb 2013 | 2,699
Mar 2013 | 2,699
Apr 2013 | 2,696
May 2013 | 2,711
Jun 2013 | 2,707
Jul 2013 | 2,720
Aug 2013 | 2,690
Sep 2013 | 2,707
Oct 2013 | 2,719
Nov 2013 | 2,724
Dec 2013 | 2,726
Jan 2014 | 2,721
Feb 2014 | 2,719
Mar 2014 | 2,725
Apr 2014 | 2,722
May 2014 | 2,719
Jun 2014 | 2,725
Jul 2014 | 2,724
Aug 2014 | 2,731
Sep 2014 | 2,732
Oct 2014 | 2,726
Nov 2014 | 2,735
Dec 2014 | 2,735
Jan 2015 | 2,738
Feb 2015 | 2,742
Mar 2015 | 2,737
Apr 2015 | 2,741
May 2015 | 2,749
Jun 2015 | 2,750
Jul 2015 | 2,753
Aug 2015 | 2,754
Sep 2015 | 2,764
Oct 2015 | 2,763
Nov 2015 | 2,750
Dec 2015 | 2,759
Jan 2016 | 2,762
Feb 2016 | 2,776
Mar 2016 | 2,785
Apr 2016 | 2,789
May 2016 | 2,753
Jun 2016 | 2,798
Jul 2016 | 2,799
Aug 2016 | 2,805
Sep 2016 | 2,812
Oct 2016 | 2,814
Nov 2016 | 2,811
Dec 2016 | 2,812
Jan 2017 | 2,818
Feb 2017 | 2,814
Mar 2017 | 2,812
Apr 2017 | 2,808
May 2017 | 2,803
Jun 2017 | 2,808
Jul 2017 | 2,810
Aug 2017 | 2,815
Sep 2017 | 2,812
Oct 2017 | 2,813
Nov 2017 | 2,815
Dec 2017 | 2,821
Jan 2018 | 2,814
Feb 2018 | 2,814
Mar 2018 | 2,825
Apr 2018 | 2,838
May 2018 | 2,837
Jun 2018 | 2,837
Jul 2018 | 2,842
Aug 2018 | 2,843
Sep 2018 | 2,839
Oct 2018 | 2,852
Nov 2018 | 2,853
Dec 2018 | 2,857
Jan 2019 | 2,840
Feb 2019 | 2,838
Mar 2019 | 2,849
Apr 2019 | 2,845
May 2019 | 2,854
Jun 2019 | 2,868
Jul 2019 | 2,868
Aug 2019 | 2,870
Sep 2019 | 2,874
Oct 2019 | 2,876
Nov 2019 | 2,886
Dec 2019 | 2,897
Jan 2020 | 2,910
Feb 2020 | 2,914
Mar 2020 | 2,898
Apr 2020 | 2,633
May 2020 | 2,594
Jun 2020 | 2,602
Jul 2020 | 2,592
Aug 2020 | 2,617
Sep 2020 | 2,659
Oct 2020 | 2,650
Nov 2020 | 2,650
Dec 2020 | 2,659
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Construction

Construction employment fell by 1.1 million in March and April, but by the end of 2020, it had regained all but 248,000 of these jobs. (See chart 25.) Like employment in many other industries, employment in construction was affected by state and local government efforts to contain COVID-19, as worksites shuttered or substantially reduced employment across the United States. In March and April, pandemic-driven job declines occurred in every construction component industry, with the greatest decline coming in specialty trade contractors. Employment in this industry, which includes establishments involved in such trades as concrete pouring, plumbing, and electrical work for building construction, fell by 766,000, or 16 percent, between February and April. Construction employment is largely a function of consumer demand for new buildings, offices, or homes, and this demand was held back in March and April. 70 As the country reopened and demand returned, especially for new homes, construction recovered 78 percent of the jobs lost in March and April. Of the recovered jobs, 71 percent came in specialty trade contractors.

⁠

Chart 25. Over-the-month employment change in construction, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment change
Jan 2018 | 3
Feb 2018 | 87
Mar 2018 | 9
Apr 2018 | 21
May 2018 | 39
Jun 2018 | 16
Jul 2018 | 24
Aug 2018 | 29
Sep 2018 | 23
Oct 2018 | 24
Nov 2018 | 7
Dec 2018 | 30
Jan 2019 | 30
Feb 2019 | -31
Mar 2019 | 24
Apr 2019 | 32
May 2019 | 7
Jun 2019 | 21
Jul 2019 | 4
Aug 2019 | 3
Sep 2019 | 18
Oct 2019 | 20
Nov 2019 | 2
Dec 2019 | 11
Jan 2020 | 58
Feb 2020 | 33
Mar 2020 | -91
Apr 2020 | -1,022
May 2020 | 469
Jun 2020 | 167
Jul 2020 | 26
Aug 2020 | 26
Sep 2020 | 33
Oct 2020 | 73
Nov 2020 | 24
Dec 2020 | 47
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

One notable aspect of pandemic-related employment changes in construction was the divergence between the industry’s residential and nonresidential components during the job recovery that began in May. Although both components suffered sharp job losses in March and April, residential construction industries experienced an immediate and sustained turnaround thereafter. By year’s end, residential building construction had more than recovered the jobs lost in March and April, and residential specialty trade contractors fell just short of a complete recovery. Nonresidential component industries, on the other hand, saw a job recovery that was far less robust. (See chart 26.) Construction spending followed these employment trends, with residential construction spending growing by 30 percent from May to December, after declining 9 percent from February to May, and with nonresidential construction spending falling by 5 percent from March to December, after being essentially flat in February and March. 71 Other residential construction indicators, such as housing starts and new home sales, experienced steady growth from April to December after suffering declines in February and March. 72 This rebound matches growth in other housing-related industries, such as real estate and building material and garden supply stores, which were all helped by the desire of consumers to renovate or improve their homes, or to move to new homes after spending considerable time in their homes as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. Nonresidential construction, on the other hand, largely depends on spending by businesses and governments, both of which were reluctant to invest in new construction projects because of pandemic-related uncertainty.

⁠

Chart 26. Employment in selected construction component industries and spending in residential and nonresidential construction, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020

Date | Employment (thousands) | Spending (billions of dollars)
Residential building | Nonresidential building | Heavy and civil engineering construction | Residential specialty trade contractors | Nonresidential specialty trade contractors | Total residential construction spending | Total nonresidential construction spending
Jan 2010 | 583.1 | 657.0 | 815.4 | 1,500.5 | 2,024.1 | $263.7 | $558.4
Feb 2010 | 578.3 | 646.7 | 803.3 | 1,489.1 | 1,983.0 | 263.6 | 551.2
Mar 2010 | 580.3 | 656.2 | 815.4 | 1,477.1 | 2,008.3 | 263.2 | 558.6
Apr 2010 | 579.8 | 665.2 | 824.5 | 1,479.9 | 2,003.6 | 264.6 | 565.1
May 2010 | 578.1 | 662.3 | 818.3 | 1,471.6 | 1,990.0 | 263.0 | 560.4
Jun 2010 | 577.2 | 660.0 | 824.7 | 1,469.3 | 1,984.7 | 261.2 | 560.7
Jul 2010 | 570.2 | 660.1 | 825.8 | 1,461.1 | 1,990.4 | 255.0 | 544.7
Aug 2010 | 568.7 | 656.6 | 834.7 | 1,452.6 | 2,011.3 | 249.4 | 552.7
Sep 2010 | 568.0 | 655.8 | 834.4 | 1,447.9 | 1,995.1 | 249.0 | 558.7
Oct 2010 | 563.3 | 653.5 | 835.9 | 1,442.0 | 2,013.0 | 248.0 | 553.4
Nov 2010 | 560.8 | 655.5 | 844.8 | 1,438.1 | 2,006.6 | 248.8 | 555.3
Dec 2010 | 559.7 | 653.2 | 824.3 | 1,430.4 | 1,999.6 | 248.9 | 540.5
Jan 2011 | 556.9 | 647.6 | 817.7 | 1,425.5 | 1,979.3 | 251.0 | 509.0
Feb 2011 | 559.0 | 641.8 | 819.6 | 1,427.5 | 2,002.7 | 249.8 | 508.6
Mar 2011 | 562.4 | 649.3 | 825.0 | 1,432.4 | 2,007.8 | 251.2 | 518.0
Apr 2011 | 563.5 | 651.6 | 827.4 | 1,433.3 | 2,009.1 | 253.9 | 515.5
May 2011 | 560.1 | 651.0 | 837.5 | 1,459.6 | 2,008.0 | 254.6 | 520.6
Jun 2011 | 567.5 | 654.0 | 837.8 | 1,451.6 | 2,016.7 | 256.3 | 538.6
Jul 2011 | 565.1 | 657.2 | 835.9 | 1,455.9 | 2,033.0 | 257.7 | 534.6
Aug 2011 | 564.4 | 661.9 | 834.2 | 1,455.0 | 2,036.6 | 260.0 | 552.0
Sep 2011 | 565.6 | 670.1 | 840.1 | 1,456.5 | 2,051.5 | 258.3 | 555.4
Oct 2011 | 571.7 | 665.3 | 847.3 | 1,463.5 | 2,039.8 | 260.3 | 548.1
Nov 2011 | 571.9 | 660.6 | 853.7 | 1,463.4 | 2,043.4 | 254.4 | 557.6
Dec 2011 | 575.0 | 656.3 | 859.0 | 1,464.5 | 2,056.3 | 255.1 | 566.3
Jan 2012 | 575.2 | 659.6 | 861.2 | 1,462.6 | 2,067.4 | 259.2 | 571.4
Feb 2012 | 576.8 | 658.7 | 861.1 | 1,462.6 | 2,069.5 | 254.1 | 570.2
Mar 2012 | 573.0 | 658.0 | 866.1 | 1,466.6 | 2,061.0 | 258.7 | 570.6
Apr 2012 | 572.0 | 658.3 | 863.6 | 1,469.8 | 2,054.1 | 265.0 | 576.7
May 2012 | 574.0 | 659.3 | 858.0 | 1,464.0 | 2,048.5 | 269.8 | 581.1
Jun 2012 | 576.2 | 657.0 | 860.9 | 1,468.1 | 2,058.9 | 275.7 | 582.3
Jul 2012 | 583.4 | 655.4 | 869.9 | 1,468.3 | 2,054.8 | 279.7 | 579.2
Aug 2012 | 584.8 | 656.6 | 875.4 | 1,476.1 | 2,054.7 | 285.5 | 577.3
Sep 2012 | 586.5 | 658.0 | 875.5 | 1,482.6 | 2,058.2 | 292.1 | 574.5
Oct 2012 | 582.7 | 661.9 | 875.5 | 1,489.1 | 2,064.4 | 300.2 | 575.2
Nov 2012 | 590.9 | 662.8 | 873.7 | 1,491.6 | 2,065.4 | 302.8 | 569.2
Dec 2012 | 594.7 | 668.4 | 876.8 | 1,501.9 | 2,082.1 | 305.1 | 566.7
Jan 2013 | 595.6 | 667.9 | 885.1 | 1,509.5 | 2,087.8 | 309.9 | 552.8
Feb 2013 | 597.9 | 671.7 | 889.3 | 1,523.7 | 2,101.1 | 314.6 | 559.0
Mar 2013 | 601.9 | 672.8 | 881.2 | 1,534.2 | 2,112.2 | 318.7 | 545.8
Apr 2013 | 607.6 | 669.5 | 867.2 | 1,540.8 | 2,110.5 | 322.8 | 557.0
May 2013 | 610.4 | 671.6 | 881.2 | 1,550.6 | 2,115.2 | 327.9 | 560.8
Jun 2013 | 610.8 | 671.7 | 886.3 | 1,563.4 | 2,123.0 | 330.6 | 568.7
Jul 2013 | 610.6 | 674.4 | 884.3 | 1,573.9 | 2,115.5 | 334.3 | 583.5
Aug 2013 | 613.8 | 670.7 | 889.2 | 1,582.7 | 2,121.9 | 341.5 | 587.5
Sep 2013 | 615.1 | 679.6 | 893.4 | 1,590.3 | 2,131.4 | 345.3 | 592.8
Oct 2013 | 621.2 | 681.4 | 891.6 | 1,595.4 | 2,141.8 | 351.7 | 599.5
Nov 2013 | 625.8 | 686.0 | 894.1 | 1,607.7 | 2,149.8 | 359.0 | 605.1
Dec 2013 | 628.6 | 685.3 | 875.9 | 1,607.4 | 2,134.7 | 366.1 | 613.1
Jan 2014 | 632.4 | 689.6 | 894.5 | 1,615.4 | 2,153.5 | 372.5 | 613.7
Feb 2014 | 641.6 | 688.1 | 896.6 | 1,616.4 | 2,164.5 | 369.3 | 619.4
Mar 2014 | 642.4 | 688.4 | 902.2 | 1,629.8 | 2,175.1 | 375.3 | 617.4
Apr 2014 | 650.5 | 692.3 | 905.2 | 1,643.5 | 2,192.7 | 380.0 | 625.9
May 2014 | 650.0 | 694.7 | 909.5 | 1,654.8 | 2,199.9 | 382.4 | 625.8
Jun 2014 | 657.1 | 695.7 | 910.6 | 1,665.5 | 2,204.5 | 376.9 | 630.5
Jul 2014 | 665.1 | 700.9 | 912.7 | 1,677.2 | 2,222.1 | 376.7 | 636.2
Aug 2014 | 669.8 | 705.3 | 914.1 | 1,689.4 | 2,230.9 | 378.2 | 637.1
Sep 2014 | 677.3 | 707.8 | 918.9 | 1,699.8 | 2,238.2 | 386.7 | 633.2
Oct 2014 | 674.1 | 709.8 | 919.6 | 1,715.6 | 2,240.1 | 391.1 | 654.5
Nov 2014 | 676.7 | 710.8 | 922.5 | 1,714.9 | 2,247.5 | 397.6 | 647.7
Dec 2014 | 672.6 | 716.5 | 930.0 | 1,718.8 | 2,254.8 | 407.8 | 649.2
Jan 2015 | 680.1 | 718.9 | 930.4 | 1,721.7 | 2,269.1 | 412.8 | 657.0
Feb 2015 | 680.4 | 726.0 | 934.8 | 1,734.6 | 2,285.0 | 418.9 | 664.0
Mar 2015 | 682.1 | 724.5 | 920.8 | 1,724.5 | 2,281.9 | 420.0 | 676.9
Apr 2015 | 684.7 | 719.8 | 932.8 | 1,752.9 | 2,301.4 | 423.4 | 700.7
May 2015 | 690.0 | 725.5 | 932.0 | 1,765.1 | 2,314.8 | 431.9 | 714.7
Jun 2015 | 688.5 | 730.2 | 933.4 | 1,769.8 | 2,319.0 | 438.2 | 727.1
Jul 2015 | 697.7 | 729.6 | 935.8 | 1,780.4 | 2,328.3 | 444.1 | 716.1
Aug 2015 | 698.2 | 730.8 | 938.8 | 1,782.8 | 2,339.4 | 445.0 | 726.2
Sep 2015 | 699.8 | 733.3 | 937.3 | 1,789.5 | 2,347.7 | 452.9 | 714.7
Oct 2015 | 702.6 | 736.9 | 941.8 | 1,796.6 | 2,369.0 | 455.3 | 703.4
Nov 2015 | 708.9 | 743.5 | 947.6 | 1,815.0 | 2,383.1 | 454.1 | 702.2
Dec 2015 | 712.9 | 746.2 | 954.1 | 1,824.6 | 2,392.2 | 460.8 | 703.1
Jan 2016 | 714.2 | 750.5 | 948.9 | 1,826.9 | 2,390.3 | 464.7 | 713.1
Feb 2016 | 717.0 | 756.3 | 948.4 | 1,836.9 | 2,381.4 | 465.6 | 717.2
Mar 2016 | 720.5 | 761.5 | 954.9 | 1,844.8 | 2,396.7 | 478.8 | 727.0
Apr 2016 | 726.2 | 763.3 | 956.8 | 1,852.2 | 2,403.3 | 475.6 | 725.7
May 2016 | 726.8 | 760.4 | 946.9 | 1,848.0 | 2,406.5 | 475.0 | 730.0
Jun 2016 | 727.4 | 761.7 | 946.3 | 1,854.4 | 2,411.6 | 478.7 | 748.0
Jul 2016 | 728.1 | 769.4 | 949.9 | 1,862.8 | 2,424.6 | 481.8 | 743.0
Aug 2016 | 734.3 | 761.4 | 941.4 | 1,871.6 | 2,427.7 | 485.1 | 741.4
Sep 2016 | 744.9 | 757.4 | 950.5 | 1,882.6 | 2,432.7 | 486.8 | 747.6
Oct 2016 | 743.8 | 766.2 | 963.1 | 1,888.8 | 2,436.7 | 505.2 | 743.8
Nov 2016 | 744.0 | 767.2 | 965.2 | 1,902.5 | 2,444.0 | 511.1 | 759.6
Dec 2016 | 741.9 | 771.8 | 953.3 | 1,909.0 | 2,442.2 | 521.5 | 757.7
Jan 2017 | 744.8 | 775.2 | 958.3 | 1,912.6 | 2,448.0 | 520.2 | 742.0
Feb 2017 | 748.2 | 777.4 | 977.0 | 1,926.5 | 2,456.7 | 543.5 | 744.6
Mar 2017 | 746.3 | 781.2 | 986.8 | 1,922.2 | 2,470.2 | 537.4 | 744.4
Apr 2017 | 745.2 | 783.6 | 993.4 | 1,927.2 | 2,467.9 | 541.3 | 734.0
May 2017 | 746.5 | 790.8 | 999.4 | 1,931.1 | 2,458.1 | 541.3 | 743.7
Jun 2017 | 747.5 | 792.2 | 1,002.6 | 1,939.3 | 2,472.5 | 540.0 | 734.9
Jul 2017 | 751.8 | 790.6 | 1,002.8 | 1,938.2 | 2,474.6 | 546.3 | 729.7
Aug 2017 | 753.0 | 794.7 | 1,008.4 | 1,952.2 | 2,480.5 | 545.7 | 721.8
Sep 2017 | 751.7 | 798.7 | 1,008.2 | 1,956.3 | 2,488.4 | 548.1 | 725.5
Oct 2017 | 760.1 | 799.2 | 1,005.0 | 1,963.0 | 2,501.5 | 546.0 | 731.7
Nov 2017 | 763.7 | 804.5 | 1,005.9 | 1,977.5 | 2,520.8 | 566.9 | 733.1
Dec 2017 | 774.5 | 803.8 | 1,007.6 | 1,988.6 | 2,529.4 | 575.3 | 738.4
Jan 2018 | 776.4 | 801.8 | 1,010.0 | 1,980.6 | 2,538.4 | 582.0 | 766.6
Feb 2018 | 785.0 | 812.2 | 1,027.9 | 2,011.4 | 2,557.9 | 592.5 | 781.3
Mar 2018 | 787.7 | 816.8 | 1,034.3 | 2,008.8 | 2,554.9 | 583.6 | 774.8
Apr 2018 | 793.4 | 822.5 | 1,036.6 | 2,012.0 | 2,559.6 | 582.4 | 780.4
May 2018 | 797.9 | 822.3 | 1,048.4 | 2,022.5 | 2,572.1 | 581.6 | 780.6
Jun 2018 | 801.3 | 825.4 | 1,054.9 | 2,025.0 | 2,572.2 | 570.9 | 770.2
Jul 2018 | 802.7 | 830.9 | 1,059.1 | 2,026.8 | 2,583.0 | 562.9 | 770.9
Aug 2018 | 802.5 | 835.1 | 1,061.9 | 2,041.5 | 2,591.1 | 553.7 | 779.0
Sep 2018 | 801.7 | 837.8 | 1,065.7 | 2,048.6 | 2,601.1 | 553.6 | 762.8
Oct 2018 | 804.1 | 837.8 | 1,068.9 | 2,059.9 | 2,608.7 | 542.2 | 759.6
Nov 2018 | 808.3 | 839.0 | 1,067.4 | 2,063.1 | 2,608.0 | 539.9 | 747.9
Dec 2018 | 814.0 | 838.3 | 1,074.2 | 2,064.1 | 2,625.2 | 528.1 | 761.5
Jan 2019 | 815.8 | 838.1 | 1,077.9 | 2,070.7 | 2,643.3 | 534.1 | 780.5
Feb 2019 | 814.4 | 837.8 | 1,064.3 | 2,067.5 | 2,631.4 | 529.6 | 794.6
Mar 2019 | 817.1 | 837.5 | 1,071.1 | 2,073.6 | 2,639.4 | 531.4 | 806.1
Apr 2019 | 812.0 | 837.6 | 1,082.3 | 2,079.4 | 2,659.2 | 537.1 | 818.9
May 2019 | 812.6 | 839.0 | 1,076.0 | 2,087.1 | 2,663.5 | 538.1 | 814.8
Jun 2019 | 817.5 | 841.4 | 1,078.1 | 2,088.9 | 2,673.5 | 544.4 | 809.6
Jul 2019 | 817.7 | 841.7 | 1,076.6 | 2,094.7 | 2,672.6 | 550.1 | 815.9
Aug 2019 | 824.3 | 842.4 | 1,080.3 | 2,089.1 | 2,670.2 | 559.2 | 819.8
Sep 2019 | 823.0 | 841.2 | 1,086.5 | 2,098.8 | 2,674.3 | 562.8 | 830.5
Oct 2019 | 828.6 | 843.2 | 1,092.6 | 2,104.2 | 2,675.7 | 563.9 | 823.0
Nov 2019 | 829.9 | 843.3 | 1,095.9 | 2,104.6 | 2,672.0 | 574.1 | 831.4
Dec 2019 | 829.4 | 849.2 | 1,097.8 | 2,107.0 | 2,673.7 | 579.9 | 830.4
Jan 2020 | 829.8 | 852.3 | 1,112.2 | 2,127.0 | 2,693.2 | 596.7 | 841.0
Feb 2020 | 839.8 | 854.8 | 1,110.8 | 2,141.4 | 2,701.2 | 600.6 | 840.6
Mar 2020 | 832.7 | 843.6 | 1,097.4 | 2,109.7 | 2,673.8 | 596.0 | 840.8
Apr 2020 | 709.2 | 747.0 | 1,002.5 | 1,803.1 | 2,273.4 | 569.9 | 818.0
May 2020 | 776.6 | 782.9 | 1,037.9 | 1,968.1 | 2,438.7 | 547.8 | 821.6
Jun 2020 | 800.5 | 793.7 | 1,027.4 | 2,037.9 | 2,511.7 | 562.6 | 821.0
Jul 2020 | 814.2 | 785.7 | 1,029.0 | 2,053.8 | 2,514.3 | 584.4 | 814.5
Aug 2020 | 819.7 | 794.2 | 1,021.5 | 2,086.1 | 2,501.4 | 624.4 | 802.5
Sep 2020 | 826.1 | 800.2 | 1,017.8 | 2,098.4 | 2,513.0 | 630.0 | 794.0
Oct 2020 | 832.7 | 812.8 | 1,029.8 | 2,114.5 | 2,538.9 | 659.4 | 799.6
Nov 2020 | 836.7 | 814.5 | 1,036.2 | 2,132.2 | 2,533.4 | 679.7 | 799.9
Dec 2020 | 847.7 | 810.5 | 1,051.0 | 2,140.3 | 2,550.4 | 713.2 | 797.2
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Census Bureau.

Mining and logging

In 2020, mining and logging employment fell by 97,000, or 14 percent. (See chart 27.) Although employment in the industry had already been on the decline since reaching a peak in January 2019, the pandemic exacerbated the losses, with 89,000 of the jobs lost in 2020 occurring in March, April, and May. Of those jobs, 70,000 were lost in the support activities for mining industry, which contains establishments providing mining support, such as site preparation, on a contract or fee basis. Support activities for mining lost another 15,000 jobs through December. Employment in mining and logging was likely affected by fluctuations in oil prices, which fell to a low in April and then recorded gains through December. 73 The 2020 employment decline in mining and logging came as the price of most mining commodities fell. 74

⁠

Chart 27. Employment in mining and logging, seasonally adjusted, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price, not seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020

Date | Employment (thousands) | WTI crude oil price (dollars per barrel)
Jan 2010 | 667 | $78.22
Feb 2010 | 674 | 76.42
Mar 2010 | 682 | 81.24
Apr 2010 | 687 | 84.48
May 2010 | 697 | 73.84
Jun 2010 | 702 | 75.35
Jul 2010 | 708 | 76.37
Aug 2010 | 716 | 76.82
Sep 2010 | 723 | 75.31
Oct 2010 | 731 | 81.90
Nov 2010 | 736 | 84.14
Dec 2010 | 734 | 89.04
Jan 2011 | 736 | 89.42
Feb 2011 | 739 | 89.58
Mar 2011 | 754 | 102.94
Apr 2011 | 768 | 110.04
May 2011 | 778 | 101.33
Jun 2011 | 790 | 96.29
Jul 2011 | 801 | 97.19
Aug 2011 | 804 | 86.33
Sep 2011 | 814 | 85.61
Oct 2011 | 820 | 86.41
Nov 2011 | 824 | 97.21
Dec 2011 | 831 | 98.57
Jan 2012 | 840 | 100.24
Feb 2012 | 845 | 102.25
Mar 2012 | 849 | 106.19
Apr 2012 | 850 | 103.33
May 2012 | 855 | 94.70
Jun 2012 | 854 | 82.41
Jul 2012 | 851 | 87.93
Aug 2012 | 851 | 94.16
Sep 2012 | 846 | 94.72
Oct 2012 | 837 | 89.57
Nov 2012 | 843 | 86.66
Dec 2012 | 848 | 88.25
Jan 2013 | 851 | 94.69
Feb 2013 | 858 | 95.32
Mar 2013 | 859 | 93.05
Apr 2013 | 857 | 92.07
May 2013 | 862 | 94.80
Jun 2013 | 865 | 95.80
Jul 2013 | 862 | 104.67
Aug 2013 | 864 | 106.57
Sep 2013 | 868 | 106.29
Oct 2013 | 870 | 100.54
Nov 2013 | 869 | 93.86
Dec 2013 | 866 | 97.63
Jan 2014 | 871 | 94.62
Feb 2014 | 875 | 100.82
Mar 2014 | 879 | 100.80
Apr 2014 | 886 | 102.07
May 2014 | 887 | 102.18
Jun 2014 | 892 | 105.79
Jul 2014 | 897 | 103.59
Aug 2014 | 898 | 96.54
Sep 2014 | 903 | 93.21
Oct 2014 | 901 | 84.40
Nov 2014 | 900 | 75.79
Dec 2014 | 896 | 59.29
Jan 2015 | 888 | 47.22
Feb 2015 | 875 | 50.58
Mar 2015 | 859 | 47.82
Apr 2015 | 843 | 54.45
May 2015 | 820 | 59.27
Jun 2015 | 816 | 59.82
Jul 2015 | 805 | 50.90
Aug 2015 | 794 | 42.87
Sep 2015 | 779 | 45.48
Oct 2015 | 771 | 46.22
Nov 2015 | 756 | 42.44
Dec 2015 | 746 | 37.19
Jan 2016 | 732 | 31.68
Feb 2016 | 711 | 30.32
Mar 2016 | 691 | 37.55
Apr 2016 | 677 | 40.75
May 2016 | 666 | 46.71
Jun 2016 | 656 | 48.76
Jul 2016 | 651 | 44.65
Aug 2016 | 647 | 44.72
Sep 2016 | 645 | 45.18
Oct 2016 | 644 | 49.78
Nov 2016 | 647 | 45.66
Dec 2016 | 649 | 51.97
Jan 2017 | 649 | 52.50
Feb 2017 | 656 | 53.47
Mar 2017 | 659 | 49.33
Apr 2017 | 668 | 51.06
May 2017 | 673 | 48.48
Jun 2017 | 677 | 45.18
Jul 2017 | 679 | 46.63
Aug 2017 | 684 | 48.04
Sep 2017 | 685 | 49.82
Oct 2017 | 687 | 51.58
Nov 2017 | 692 | 56.64
Dec 2017 | 693 | 57.88
Jan 2018 | 699 | 63.70
Feb 2018 | 706 | 62.23
Mar 2018 | 714 | 62.73
Apr 2018 | 721 | 66.25
May 2018 | 724 | 69.98
Jun 2018 | 730 | 67.87
Jul 2018 | 730 | 70.98
Aug 2018 | 737 | 68.06
Sep 2018 | 739 | 70.23
Oct 2018 | 742 | 70.75
Nov 2018 | 736 | 56.96
Dec 2018 | 742 | 49.52
Jan 2019 | 746 | 51.38
Feb 2019 | 741 | 54.95
Mar 2019 | 740 | 58.15
Apr 2019 | 737 | 63.86
May 2019 | 738 | 60.83
Jun 2019 | 734 | 54.66
Jul 2019 | 727 | 57.35
Aug 2019 | 719 | 54.81
Sep 2019 | 718 | 56.95
Oct 2019 | 719 | 53.96
Nov 2019 | 707 | 57.03
Dec 2019 | 694 | 59.88
Jan 2020 | 689 | 57.52
Feb 2020 | 690 | 50.54
Mar 2020 | 674 | 29.21
Apr 2020 | 622 | 16.55
May 2020 | 601 | 28.56
Jun 2020 | 597 | 38.31
Jul 2020 | 593 | 40.71
Aug 2020 | 589 | 42.34
Sep 2020 | 592 | 39.63
Oct 2020 | 594 | 39.40
Nov 2020 | 597 | 40.94
Dec 2020 | 597 | 47.02
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Transportation and warehousing

Transportation and warehousing employment fell by 93,000, or 2 percent, in 2020. (See chart 28.) This decline is modest in comparison with that in other industry groups, a fact due entirely to employment strength in couriers and messengers and in warehousing and storage.

⁠

Chart 28. Employment in transportation and warehousing, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 4,129.0
Feb 2010 | 4,129.4
Mar 2010 | 4,140.8
Apr 2010 | 4,147.1
May 2010 | 4,158.3
Jun 2010 | 4,175.2
Jul 2010 | 4,192.6
Aug 2010 | 4,188.9
Sep 2010 | 4,206.3
Oct 2010 | 4,216.4
Nov 2010 | 4,225.3
Dec 2010 | 4,250.1
Jan 2011 | 4,217.3
Feb 2011 | 4,248.2
Mar 2011 | 4,258.7
Apr 2011 | 4,277.4
May 2011 | 4,285.6
Jun 2011 | 4,301.5
Jul 2011 | 4,303.8
Aug 2011 | 4,310.6
Sep 2011 | 4,315.9
Oct 2011 | 4,324.1
Nov 2011 | 4,328.2
Dec 2011 | 4,328.3
Jan 2012 | 4,346.3
Feb 2012 | 4,372.2
Mar 2012 | 4,377.0
Apr 2012 | 4,364.9
May 2012 | 4,397.5
Jun 2012 | 4,397.7
Jul 2012 | 4,409.9
Aug 2012 | 4,422.2
Sep 2012 | 4,426.1
Oct 2012 | 4,436.6
Nov 2012 | 4,428.1
Dec 2012 | 4,463.7
Jan 2013 | 4,465.0
Feb 2013 | 4,463.3
Mar 2013 | 4,456.9
Apr 2013 | 4,471.4
May 2013 | 4,467.5
Jun 2013 | 4,471.8
Jul 2013 | 4,463.9
Aug 2013 | 4,479.8
Sep 2013 | 4,506.2
Oct 2013 | 4,512.2
Nov 2013 | 4,529.8
Dec 2013 | 4,541.2
Jan 2014 | 4,561.9
Feb 2014 | 4,556.8
Mar 2014 | 4,572.6
Apr 2014 | 4,586.5
May 2014 | 4,614.8
Jun 2014 | 4,634.0
Jul 2014 | 4,661.5
Aug 2014 | 4,676.2
Sep 2014 | 4,690.1
Oct 2014 | 4,710.0
Nov 2014 | 4,732.6
Dec 2014 | 4,760.5
Jan 2015 | 4,769.8
Feb 2015 | 4,786.0
Mar 2015 | 4,799.0
Apr 2015 | 4,805.9
May 2015 | 4,828.1
Jun 2015 | 4,855.2
Jul 2015 | 4,878.6
Aug 2015 | 4,889.4
Sep 2015 | 4,898.4
Oct 2015 | 4,898.8
Nov 2015 | 4,914.7
Dec 2015 | 4,946.0
Jan 2016 | 4,914.5
Feb 2016 | 4,930.3
Mar 2016 | 4,948.9
Apr 2016 | 4,964.8
May 2016 | 4,979.9
Jun 2016 | 4,984.1
Jul 2016 | 5,009.2
Aug 2016 | 5,035.8
Sep 2016 | 5,030.8
Oct 2016 | 5,047.4
Nov 2016 | 5,064.8
Dec 2016 | 5,096.9
Jan 2017 | 5,080.3
Feb 2017 | 5,101.5
Mar 2017 | 5,116.7
Apr 2017 | 5,130.9
May 2017 | 5,153.2
Jun 2017 | 5,166.2
Jul 2017 | 5,177.9
Aug 2017 | 5,193.3
Sep 2017 | 5,223.5
Oct 2017 | 5,249.8
Nov 2017 | 5,257.7
Dec 2017 | 5,278.3
Jan 2018 | 5,286.7
Feb 2018 | 5,325.2
Mar 2018 | 5,357.0
Apr 2018 | 5,369.0
May 2018 | 5,391.2
Jun 2018 | 5,411.3
Jul 2018 | 5,426.4
Aug 2018 | 5,462.1
Sep 2018 | 5,490.4
Oct 2018 | 5,524.3
Nov 2018 | 5,547.3
Dec 2018 | 5,529.5
Jan 2019 | 5,585.4
Feb 2019 | 5,589.1
Mar 2019 | 5,598.0
Apr 2019 | 5,614.3
May 2019 | 5,628.2
Jun 2019 | 5,662.6
Jul 2019 | 5,676.1
Aug 2019 | 5,683.5
Sep 2019 | 5,705.4
Oct 2019 | 5,724.7
Nov 2019 | 5,747.7
Dec 2019 | 5,761.0
Jan 2020 | 5,798.1
Feb 2020 | 5,823.1
Mar 2020 | 5,822.1
Apr 2020 | 5,248.5
May 2020 | 5,239.0
Jun 2020 | 5,335.7
Jul 2020 | 5,385.2
Aug 2020 | 5,472.4
Sep 2020 | 5,516.4
Oct 2020 | 5,587.7
Nov 2020 | 5,711.3
Dec 2020 | 5,668.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Peaking in February, transportation and warehousing employment changed little in March, but it fell by 583,000 in April and May. The details of this decline reflect common themes of the pandemic. (See chart 29.) Industries dependent on individuals being near one another experienced steep employment declines, whereas industries able to capitalize on people’s desire for social distancing were able to mitigate losses, or even thrive.

⁠

Chart 29. Employment change in transportation and warehousing, by component industry, seasonally adjusted, February–April and April–December 2020 (in thousands)

Industry | February–April | April–December
Air transportation | -78.2 | -40.4
Rail transportation | -5.5 | -9.4
Water transportation | -5.6 | -2.8
Truck transportation | -96.4 | 50.5
Transit and ground passenger transportation | -186.4 | 56.7
Pipeline transportation | 0.1 | -2.0
Scenic and sightseeing transportation | -22.4 | 11.8
Support activities for transportation | -96.6 | 26.6
Couriers and messengers | 6.4 | 145.1
Warehousing and storage | -90.0 | 183.5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

Industries related to travel and commuting lost jobs from travel restrictions, increased telecommuting, school closures, and people’s reluctance to travel. Between January and May, employment in transit and ground passenger transportation declined by 193,000, or 39 percent. This industry group includes businesses such as privately run urban transit systems, intercity and chartered bus services, school bus services, and taxis. 75 As employers increasingly allowed—or required—employees to work from home as much as possible, passenger traffic in transit systems fell dramatically. 76 Additionally, closures of school buildings reduced the need for school bus services, resulting in the loss of 104,000 jobs, or half of all workers on payrolls in the school and employee bus transportation industry, between January and June. Later in the year, the reopening of school buildings across the nation—usually with reduced schedules and limited capacity—led to a partial rebound in employment, with the industry recovering 44 percent of its job losses by the end of the year. 77 From May to December, school and employee bus transportation accounted for 43,000 of the 62,000 jobs gained in transit and ground passenger transportation, which recovered 32 percent of its job losses by the end of the year.

Between January and April, air revenue passenger miles fell by 96 percent. 78 (See chart 30.) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed in March, brought some relief to the airline industry. To prevent job loss, the act provided $25 billion in payroll support to passenger airlines in the form of partially forgivable loans. In order to receive support, airlines had to agree not to conduct involuntary furloughs of employees until September 30. 79 Despite this aid, air transportation employment fell in April, May, and June, declining by 135,000, or 26 percent. These losses were likely due to attrition and voluntary employee buyouts. After briefly rallying in the summer, air transportation employment fell in October (immediately after the CARES Act funding expired), before trending back up through December. By the end of the year, the industry had recovered only 11 percent of its pandemic-related job losses. A related transportation industry, support activities for air transportation, followed largely the same employment trend, losing 51,000 jobs between February and June and then entering a lackluster job recovery.

⁠

Chart 30. Over-the-month employment change in air transportation and air revenue passenger miles, seasonally adjusted, January 2018–December 2020

Date | Employment change (thousands) | Air revenue passenger miles (billions)
Jan 2018 | 0.2 | 82.4
Feb 2018 | 1.4 | 83.6
Mar 2018 | -0.9 | 83.8
Apr 2018 | 0.8 | 84.2
May 2018 | -1.3 | 84.5
Jun 2018 | -0.1 | 85.2
Jul 2018 | 0.1 | 85.6
Aug 2018 | -0.1 | 85.6
Sep 2018 | 0.2 | 85.0
Oct 2018 | -0.9 | 85.8
Nov 2018 | -0.4 | 86.0
Dec 2018 | 2.2 | 85.6
Jan 2019 | 1.3 | 86.1
Feb 2019 | 2.6 | 86.1
Mar 2019 | -0.9 | 88.4
Apr 2019 | -0.1 | 87.4
May 2019 | 0.2 | 88.6
Jun 2019 | 3.5 | 88.4
Jul 2019 | 2.4 | 88.5
Aug 2019 | -1.5 | 88.9
Sep 2019 | 0.9 | 89.7
Oct 2019 | 4.5 | 89.3
Nov 2019 | 0.3 | 89.6
Dec 2019 | 1.7 | 90.3
Jan 2020 | 1.3 | 90.3
Feb 2020 | 2.8 | 89.3
Mar 2020 | 1.6 | 40.8
Apr 2020 | -79.8 | 3.9
May 2020 | -50.1 | 3.1
Jun 2020 | -5.4 | 5.2
Jul 2020 | 16.2 | 8.7
Aug 2020 | 11.4 | 14.5
Sep 2020 | -1.3 | 29.4
Oct 2020 | -18.9 | 29.4
Nov 2020 | 3.7 | 34.4
Dec 2020 | 4.0 | 33.6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

In March and April, trucking employment fell by 96,000, or 6 percent. These job losses occurred in both general freight and specialized freight trucking, but the former suffered greater losses. (See chart 31.) Establishments in general freight trucking haul a vast array of goods whose transportation requires no specialized equipment. They also may provide related support services, such as local pickup, local delivery, and sorting and terminal operations. General freight trucking lost 64,000 jobs in March, April, and May, an employment decline of 6 percent. By the end of the year, the industry had recovered 57 percent of its pandemic-driven job losses. Employment also fell in specialized freight trucking, an industry in which businesses haul articles whose transportation is complicated by item size, weight, and other characteristics and requires the use of specialized equipment, such as dump trucks or refrigerated trailers. Establishments within this industry also haul used residential or office goods. After seeing its employment decline by 36,000, or 8 percent, in March and April, specialized freight trucking recovered 45 percent of its losses by the end of 2020. Overall, as of December, truck transportation had recovered 52 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

⁠

Chart 31. Over-the-month employment change in general freight and specialized freight trucking, seasonally adjusted, and Cass Freight Index, not seasonally adjusted, January–December 2020

Date | Employment change in general freight trucking (thousands) | Employment change in specialized freight trucking (thousands) | Cass Freight Index (January 1990 = 1)
Jan 2020 | 4.9 | -2.0 | 1.022
Feb 2020 | 2.5 | -1.0 | 1.085
Mar 2020 | -6.8 | -2.3 | 1.087
Apr 2020 | -52.1 | -34.1 | 0.923
May 2020 | -4.8 | 3.9 | 0.938
Jun 2020 | 7.1 | -2.8 | 0.971
Jul 2020 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 1.018
Aug 2020 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 1.099
Sep 2020 | 4.2 | -0.7 | 1.177
Oct 2020 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 1.180
Nov 2020 | 12.6 | 1.9 | 1.154
Dec 2020 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.122
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and Cass Information Systems, Inc.

The job declines and gains in trucking coincided with changes in shipping volumes. In April, the Cass Freight Index, a measure of shipping activity, fell by 15 percent. 80 Another measure of trucking activity, the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which measures the gross tonnage of freight, fell by 9 percent that same month. 81 These declines in shipping volume were due to the near-cessation of business activity and disruptions in global supply chains. 82 However, they were short lived, and as consumers turned to online shopping, shipping volumes recovered. As a result, trucking companies began modest rehiring, although the benefits accruing to trucking from online shopping were offset, to some degree, by declines in shipping to brick-and-mortar retail establishments.

Two transportation and warehousing industries added jobs in 2020. Over the year, couriers and messengers employment grew by 167,000, or 19 percent, and warehousing and storage employment grew by 133,000, or 10 percent. The employment growth of these two industries largely offset job losses in the other transportation and warehousing component industries, especially from May to December, when transportation and warehousing recovered 429,000 jobs, or 74 percent of the jobs lost in April and May. From May to December, couriers and messengers added 108,000 jobs, and warehousing and storage added 169,000 jobs, accounting for most of transportation and warehousing’s recovery from pandemic-related losses in other industries.

Couriers and messengers employment saw only one monthly decline in the early days of the pandemic—a loss of 5,000 jobs in April. After that, the industry added an average of 18,000 jobs per month through the end of the year, well above the average monthly gain of 9,000 jobs experienced in 2019. Job gains in couriers and messengers were concentrated in the couriers and express delivery services industry, which, after losing 3,000 jobs in February, grew steadily through November. This industry includes businesses that provide air, surface, or combined-mode parcel delivery services. Consumers, eager to observe social distancing and hesitant to shop in person, increasingly turned to online shopping during the pandemic. 83 The e-commerce share of total retail sales grew from 11 percent in the first quarter of 2020 to a high of 16 percent in the second quarter. 84 (See chart 32.) The relative strength of online shopping is further confirmed by the fact that e-commerce sales grew by 32 percent in 2020, while overall retail sales grew by only 7 percent. Increases in online shopping drove up shipping volumes for courier and delivery companies, and they responded with increased hiring.

⁠

Chart 32. Employment in couriers and messengers and warehousing and storage, and e-commerce sales as a percentage of total retail sales, seasonally adjusted, January 2000–December 2020

Date | Employment in couriers and messengers (thousands) | Employment in warehousing and storage (thousands) | E-commerce share of total retail sales (percent)
Jan 2000 | 593.2 | 510.2 | 0.8
Feb 2000 | 592.1 | 511.3 | 0.8
Mar 2000 | 597.7 | 512.7 | 0.8
Apr 2000 | 600.1 | 514.2 | 0.9
May 2000 | 599.4 | 514.1 | 0.9
Jun 2000 | 603.4 | 519.3 | 0.9
Jul 2000 | 605.1 | 518.7 | 1.0
Aug 2000 | 606.8 | 520.0 | 1.0
Sep 2000 | 606.4 | 520.8 | 1.0
Oct 2000 | 611.9 | 521.3 | 1.0
Nov 2000 | 621.7 | 524.2 | 1.0
Dec 2000 | 635.1 | 526.7 | 1.0
Jan 2001 | 599.7 | 524.5 | 1.1
Feb 2001 | 597.5 | 523.4 | 1.1
Mar 2001 | 594.4 | 523.9 | 1.1
Apr 2001 | 592.8 | 523.7 | 1.1
May 2001 | 593.6 | 522.9 | 1.1
Jun 2001 | 589.8 | 520.6 | 1.1
Jul 2001 | 583.5 | 518.6 | 1.1
Aug 2001 | 585.0 | 518.4 | 1.1
Sep 2001 | 578.6 | 512.0 | 1.1
Oct 2001 | 577.3 | 508.5 | 1.2
Nov 2001 | 575.3 | 504.7 | 1.2
Dec 2001 | 577.5 | 506.4 | 1.2
Jan 2002 | 558.1 | 510.8 | 1.3
Feb 2002 | 562.2 | 517.6 | 1.3
Mar 2002 | 560.8 | 513.3 | 1.3
Apr 2002 | 561.0 | 513.5 | 1.4
May 2002 | 560.6 | 516.1 | 1.4
Jun 2002 | 558.5 | 518.4 | 1.4
Jul 2002 | 559.5 | 517.6 | 1.5
Aug 2002 | 560.1 | 524.6 | 1.5
Sep 2002 | 563.2 | 526.0 | 1.5
Oct 2002 | 563.5 | 527.7 | 1.5
Nov 2002 | 563.9 | 527.3 | 1.5
Dec 2002 | 563.8 | 527.0 | 1.5
Jan 2003 | 565.3 | 525.3 | 1.6
Feb 2003 | 567.8 | 532.5 | 1.6
Mar 2003 | 568.9 | 526.6 | 1.6
Apr 2003 | 566.2 | 528.5 | 1.7
May 2003 | 563.6 | 529.5 | 1.7
Jun 2003 | 562.6 | 528.8 | 1.7
Jul 2003 | 563.0 | 529.7 | 1.8
Aug 2003 | 559.8 | 531.9 | 1.8
Sep 2003 | 557.2 | 535.5 | 1.8
Oct 2003 | 556.9 | 538.6 | 1.9
Nov 2003 | 555.6 | 540.2 | 1.9
Dec 2003 | 542.6 | 534.3 | 1.9
Jan 2004 | 558.0 | 546.9 | 2.0
Feb 2004 | 556.9 | 550.3 | 2.0
Mar 2004 | 557.7 | 555.5 | 2.0
Apr 2004 | 552.8 | 558.4 | 2.0
May 2004 | 555.7 | 554.5 | 2.0
Jun 2004 | 560.3 | 558.7 | 2.0
Jul 2004 | 559.1 | 562.1 | 2.1
Aug 2004 | 559.9 | 562.9 | 2.1
Sep 2004 | 561.8 | 566.9 | 2.1
Oct 2004 | 560.2 | 576.7 | 2.2
Nov 2004 | 560.5 | 575.0 | 2.2
Dec 2004 | 562.3 | 575.3 | 2.2
Jan 2005 | 565.4 | 578.6 | 2.3
Feb 2005 | 567.4 | 582.7 | 2.3
Mar 2005 | 567.7 | 584.6 | 2.3
Apr 2005 | 572.1 | 587.3 | 2.4
May 2005 | 574.0 | 590.5 | 2.4
Jun 2005 | 573.3 | 601.6 | 2.4
Jul 2005 | 571.4 | 600.7 | 2.5
Aug 2005 | 576.9 | 605.4 | 2.5
Sep 2005 | 575.9 | 609.0 | 2.5
Oct 2005 | 578.0 | 611.0 | 2.6
Nov 2005 | 579.2 | 614.8 | 2.6
Dec 2005 | 579.7 | 619.2 | 2.6
Jan 2006 | 579.2 | 624.3 | 2.7
Feb 2006 | 577.2 | 629.9 | 2.7
Mar 2006 | 576.2 | 631.4 | 2.7
Apr 2006 | 577.9 | 634.5 | 2.8
May 2006 | 581.5 | 638.3 | 2.8
Jun 2006 | 579.7 | 642.9 | 2.8
Jul 2006 | 581.7 | 646.0 | 3.0
Aug 2006 | 580.3 | 647.7 | 3.0
Sep 2006 | 581.3 | 648.5 | 3.0
Oct 2006 | 585.1 | 651.3 | 3.1
Nov 2006 | 589.4 | 654.6 | 3.1
Dec 2006 | 590.7 | 660.6 | 3.1
Jan 2007 | 582.4 | 660.8 | 3.2
Feb 2007 | 582.6 | 661.5 | 3.2
Mar 2007 | 585.8 | 661.5 | 3.2
Apr 2007 | 583.6 | 664.7 | 3.4
May 2007 | 584.6 | 667.7 | 3.4
Jun 2007 | 582.5 | 668.5 | 3.4
Jul 2007 | 581.2 | 669.4 | 3.5
Aug 2007 | 580.2 | 668.5 | 3.5
Sep 2007 | 582.9 | 675.4 | 3.5
Oct 2007 | 578.9 | 680.2 | 3.5
Nov 2007 | 579.3 | 680.5 | 3.5
Dec 2007 | 580.8 | 680.1 | 3.5
Jan 2008 | 582.5 | 679.1 | 3.6
Feb 2008 | 583.2 | 680.4 | 3.6
Mar 2008 | 581.2 | 682.1 | 3.6
Apr 2008 | 581.1 | 684.0 | 3.6
May 2008 | 581.0 | 683.0 | 3.6
Jun 2008 | 580.2 | 681.1 | 3.6
Jul 2008 | 579.9 | 679.4 | 3.6
Aug 2008 | 576.1 | 676.6 | 3.6
Sep 2008 | 572.1 | 673.8 | 3.6
Oct 2008 | 565.9 | 671.6 | 3.6
Nov 2008 | 555.6 | 666.8 | 3.6
Dec 2008 | 552.3 | 662.3 | 3.6
Jan 2009 | 567.2 | 662.2 | 3.8
Feb 2009 | 564.9 | 654.9 | 3.8
Mar 2009 | 561.3 | 653.3 | 3.8
Apr 2009 | 558.3 | 647.8 | 4.0
May 2009 | 554.0 | 643.6 | 4.0
Jun 2009 | 551.6 | 642.1 | 4.0
Jul 2009 | 550.3 | 639.5 | 4.1
Aug 2009 | 546.4 | 637.1 | 4.1
Sep 2009 | 541.6 | 633.7 | 4.1
Oct 2009 | 538.8 | 629.5 | 4.1
Nov 2009 | 534.1 | 628.3 | 4.1
Dec 2009 | 493.4 | 628.7 | 4.1
Jan 2010 | 516.7 | 629.2 | 4.2
Feb 2010 | 523.7 | 628.9 | 4.2
Mar 2010 | 523.3 | 633.7 | 4.2
Apr 2010 | 524.9 | 635.3 | 4.4
May 2010 | 525.4 | 637.5 | 4.4
Jun 2010 | 527.2 | 640.9 | 4.4
Jul 2010 | 527.5 | 637.0 | 4.6
Aug 2010 | 527.9 | 638.2 | 4.6
Sep 2010 | 531.1 | 640.3 | 4.6
Oct 2010 | 531.3 | 642.5 | 4.6
Nov 2010 | 530.0 | 645.2 | 4.6
Dec 2010 | 550.9 | 646.0 | 4.6
Jan 2011 | 518.6 | 647.0 | 4.7
Feb 2011 | 530.1 | 648.4 | 4.7
Mar 2011 | 531.2 | 648.8 | 4.7
Apr 2011 | 532.9 | 651.5 | 4.8
May 2011 | 533.3 | 653.2 | 4.8
Jun 2011 | 532.9 | 656.8 | 4.8
Jul 2011 | 533.8 | 660.0 | 4.9
Aug 2011 | 534.5 | 662.8 | 4.9
Sep 2011 | 535.0 | 664.1 | 4.9
Oct 2011 | 534.9 | 664.9 | 5.1
Nov 2011 | 531.7 | 666.4 | 5.1
Dec 2011 | 522.4 | 668.9 | 5.1
Jan 2012 | 521.0 | 671.4 | 5.2
Feb 2012 | 530.5 | 675.7 | 5.2
Mar 2012 | 532.9 | 677.3 | 5.2
Apr 2012 | 532.3 | 682.8 | 5.3
May 2012 | 534.6 | 687.9 | 5.3
Jun 2012 | 537.2 | 691.1 | 5.3
Jul 2012 | 537.9 | 694.6 | 5.5
Aug 2012 | 539.4 | 696.6 | 5.5
Sep 2012 | 539.6 | 699.4 | 5.5
Oct 2012 | 535.1 | 703.4 | 5.6
Nov 2012 | 523.3 | 707.2 | 5.6
Dec 2012 | 540.6 | 714.9 | 5.6
Jan 2013 | 542.4 | 707.1 | 5.6
Feb 2013 | 539.4 | 707.2 | 5.6
Mar 2013 | 539.1 | 708.5 | 5.6
Apr 2013 | 538.3 | 709.4 | 5.8
May 2013 | 538.9 | 708.2 | 5.8
Jun 2013 | 539.1 | 711.9 | 5.8
Jul 2013 | 543.6 | 714.2 | 5.9
Aug 2013 | 547.8 | 717.6 | 5.9
Sep 2013 | 545.4 | 722.1 | 5.9
Oct 2013 | 548.3 | 724.3 | 6.1
Nov 2013 | 551.6 | 728.0 | 6.1
Dec 2013 | 551.2 | 731.9 | 6.1
Jan 2014 | 570.1 | 729.0 | 6.2
Feb 2014 | 558.0 | 731.8 | 6.2
Mar 2014 | 554.1 | 736.9 | 6.2
Apr 2014 | 558.6 | 740.8 | 6.3
May 2014 | 565.2 | 747.8 | 6.3
Jun 2014 | 572.6 | 753.7 | 6.3
Jul 2014 | 576.6 | 760.3 | 6.5
Aug 2014 | 578.9 | 764.8 | 6.5
Sep 2014 | 583.6 | 767.0 | 6.5
Oct 2014 | 587.2 | 769.0 | 6.6
Nov 2014 | 591.3 | 776.0 | 6.6
Dec 2014 | 611.5 | 777.6 | 6.6
Jan 2015 | 604.6 | 786.4 | 6.9
Feb 2015 | 604.4 | 797.7 | 6.9
Mar 2015 | 605.5 | 803.8 | 6.9
Apr 2015 | 600.3 | 809.6 | 7.0
May 2015 | 601.2 | 817.4 | 7.0
Jun 2015 | 607.1 | 829.1 | 7.0
Jul 2015 | 610.1 | 840.8 | 7.2
Aug 2015 | 611.1 | 847.1 | 7.2
Sep 2015 | 614.2 | 854.5 | 7.2
Oct 2015 | 613.4 | 864.6 | 7.4
Nov 2015 | 619.8 | 871.6 | 7.4
Dec 2015 | 643.0 | 882.1 | 7.4
Jan 2016 | 607.6 | 890.9 | 7.7
Feb 2016 | 621.3 | 897.4 | 7.7
Mar 2016 | 629.9 | 905.3 | 7.7
Apr 2016 | 634.4 | 914.4 | 7.8
May 2016 | 638.0 | 921.8 | 7.8
Jun 2016 | 641.6 | 927.5 | 7.8
Jul 2016 | 645.4 | 935.9 | 8.0
Aug 2016 | 649.4 | 941.9 | 8.0
Sep 2016 | 652.4 | 949.3 | 8.0
Oct 2016 | 652.3 | 956.4 | 8.2
Nov 2016 | 657.2 | 964.5 | 8.2
Dec 2016 | 674.4 | 975.2 | 8.2
Jan 2017 | 654.0 | 980.0 | 8.4
Feb 2017 | 662.1 | 984.1 | 8.4
Mar 2017 | 661.6 | 989.4 | 8.4
Apr 2017 | 665.8 | 999.2 | 8.7
May 2017 | 672.3 | 1,007.3 | 8.7
Jun 2017 | 676.1 | 1,019.0 | 8.7
Jul 2017 | 677.7 | 1,026.1 | 8.9
Aug 2017 | 683.6 | 1,037.6 | 8.9
Sep 2017 | 687.8 | 1,045.6 | 8.9
Oct 2017 | 694.9 | 1,061.5 | 9.1
Nov 2017 | 690.0 | 1,077.9 | 9.1
Dec 2017 | 690.8 | 1,091.2 | 9.1
Jan 2018 | 691.4 | 1,095.1 | 9.4
Feb 2018 | 701.4 | 1,107.6 | 9.4
Mar 2018 | 712.0 | 1,121.5 | 9.4
Apr 2018 | 724.0 | 1,124.4 | 9.5
May 2018 | 732.2 | 1,132.7 | 9.5
Jun 2018 | 737.9 | 1,134.8 | 9.5
Jul 2018 | 747.8 | 1,136.2 | 9.7
Aug 2018 | 754.8 | 1,145.4 | 9.7
Sep 2018 | 763.4 | 1,155.4 | 9.7
Oct 2018 | 777.0 | 1,168.1 | 9.9
Nov 2018 | 783.9 | 1,171.2 | 9.9
Dec 2018 | 756.7 | 1,171.9 | 9.9
Jan 2019 | 799.3 | 1,177.6 | 10.2
Feb 2019 | 794.5 | 1,181.9 | 10.2
Mar 2019 | 799.5 | 1,184.8 | 10.2
Apr 2019 | 804.0 | 1,196.7 | 10.5
May 2019 | 810.1 | 1,207.6 | 10.5
Jun 2019 | 821.2 | 1,220.0 | 10.5
Jul 2019 | 831.9 | 1,233.1 | 10.9
Aug 2019 | 839.9 | 1,245.1 | 10.9
Sep 2019 | 846.0 | 1,258.0 | 10.9
Oct 2019 | 853.4 | 1,267.0 | 11.0
Nov 2019 | 861.5 | 1,277.8 | 11.0
Dec 2019 | 867.3 | 1,288.7 | 11.0
Jan 2020 | 879.2 | 1,310.5 | 11.4
Feb 2020 | 882.8 | 1,327.7 | 11.4
Mar 2020 | 893.7 | 1,343.8 | 11.4
Apr 2020 | 889.2 | 1,237.7 | 15.7
May 2020 | 926.4 | 1,252.7 | 15.7
Jun 2020 | 950.4 | 1,321.4 | 15.7
Jul 2020 | 960.0 | 1,312.8 | 13.8
Aug 2020 | 968.9 | 1,355.0 | 13.8
Sep 2020 | 980.9 | 1,374.2 | 13.8
Oct 2020 | 992.3 | 1,407.0 | 13.6
Nov 2020 | 1,063.9 | 1,434.7 | 13.6
Dec 2020 | 1,034.3 | 1,421.2 | 13.6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey; and U.S. Census Bureau.

The warehousing and storage industry also managed to benefit from increases in online sales. Initially, the pandemic did drive job losses in this industry, which lost 106,000 jobs in April, an employment decline of 8 percent. However, the industry bounced back, adding jobs in 6 of the 8 months that followed. In December, employment in warehousing and storage exceeded its March level by 77,000 jobs. Many companies commonly described as online retailers frequently operate warehouses and fulfillment centers. So, when the volume of online sales rose, warehousing and storage employment rose with it. And even warehouses not owned by large retailers likely benefitted from the increased volume of shipments.

Financial activities

The financial activities industry was among the industries whose employment was minimally affected by the pandemic, losing 58,000 jobs in 2020, an employment decline of 1 percent. (See chart 33.) Even in the early months of the pandemic, when total nonfarm employment fell by 15 percent in March and April, employment in financial activities declined by only 3 percent, a drop of 279,000 jobs. Although nearly all component industries in financial activities lost jobs over this time, the declines were primarily concentrated in rental and leasing and in real estate.

⁠

Chart 33. Employment in financial activities, seasonally adjusted, January 2010–December 2020 (in thousands)

Date | Employment
Jan 2010 | 7,732
Feb 2010 | 7,724
Mar 2010 | 7,708
Apr 2010 | 7,708
May 2010 | 7,699
Jun 2010 | 7,688
Jul 2010 | 7,677
Aug 2010 | 7,676
Sep 2010 | 7,683
Oct 2010 | 7,682
Nov 2010 | 7,681
Dec 2010 | 7,684
Jan 2011 | 7,680
Feb 2011 | 7,676
Mar 2011 | 7,681
Apr 2011 | 7,679
May 2011 | 7,702
Jun 2011 | 7,692
Jul 2011 | 7,694
Aug 2011 | 7,700
Sep 2011 | 7,694
Oct 2011 | 7,707
Nov 2011 | 7,721
Dec 2011 | 7,729
Jan 2012 | 7,735
Feb 2012 | 7,743
Mar 2012 | 7,768
Apr 2012 | 7,771
May 2012 | 7,783
Jun 2012 | 7,783
Jul 2012 | 7,779
Aug 2012 | 7,788
Sep 2012 | 7,800
Oct 2012 | 7,809
Nov 2012 | 7,815
Dec 2012 | 7,827
Jan 2013 | 7,836
Feb 2013 | 7,850
Mar 2013 | 7,857
Apr 2013 | 7,872
May 2013 | 7,883
Jun 2013 | 7,888
Jul 2013 | 7,904
Aug 2013 | 7,903
Sep 2013 | 7,904
Oct 2013 | 7,910
Nov 2013 | 7,910
Dec 2013 | 7,914
Jan 2014 | 7,913
Feb 2014 | 7,930
Mar 2014 | 7,932
Apr 2014 | 7,944
May 2014 | 7,951
Jun 2014 | 7,968
Jul 2014 | 7,980
Aug 2014 | 7,995
Sep 2014 | 8,008
Oct 2014 | 8,016
Nov 2014 | 8,034
Dec 2014 | 8,041
Jan 2015 | 8,059
Feb 2015 | 8,072
Mar 2015 | 8,081
Apr 2015 | 8,088
May 2015 | 8,095
Jun 2015 | 8,117
Jul 2015 | 8,137
Aug 2015 | 8,143
Sep 2015 | 8,153
Oct 2015 | 8,168
Nov 2015 | 8,180
Dec 2015 | 8,188
Jan 2016 | 8,208
Feb 2016 | 8,211
Mar 2016 | 8,227
Apr 2016 | 8,252
May 2016 | 8,264
Jun 2016 | 8,280
Jul 2016 | 8,302
Aug 2016 | 8,317
Sep 2016 | 8,324
Oct 2016 | 8,331
Nov 2016 | 8,342
Dec 2016 | 8,368
Jan 2017 | 8,399
Feb 2017 | 8,400
Mar 2017 | 8,409
Apr 2017 | 8,424
May 2017 | 8,432
Jun 2017 | 8,448
Jul 2017 | 8,460
Aug 2017 | 8,469
Sep 2017 | 8,476
Oct 2017 | 8,481
Nov 2017 | 8,494
Dec 2017 | 8,500
Jan 2018 | 8,506
Feb 2018 | 8,531
Mar 2018 | 8,538
Apr 2018 | 8,544
May 2018 | 8,568
Jun 2018 | 8,586
Jul 2018 | 8,595
Aug 2018 | 8,607
Sep 2018 | 8,629
Oct 2018 | 8,645
Nov 2018 | 8,657
Dec 2018 | 8,667
Jan 2019 | 8,679
Feb 2019 | 8,688
Mar 2019 | 8,707
Apr 2019 | 8,722
May 2019 | 8,730
Jun 2019 | 8,738
Jul 2019 | 8,762
Aug 2019 | 8,779
Sep 2019 | 8,784
Oct 2019 | 8,805
Nov 2019 | 8,824
Dec 2019 | 8,832
Jan 2020 | 8,849
Feb 2020 | 8,875
Mar 2020 | 8,850
Apr 2020 | 8,596
May 2020 | 8,613
Jun 2020 | 8,634
Jul 2020 | 8,646
Aug 2020 | 8,674
Sep 2020 | 8,712
Oct 2020 | 8,746
Nov 2020 | 8,756
Dec 2020 | 8,774
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey.

The rental and leasing industry includes businesses engaged in renting consumer goods and equipment, as well as those leasing machinery and equipment for business operations. Employment in this industry fell by 124,000 in March and April, with about half of this decline coming in automotive equipment rental and leasing, which lost 58,000 jobs over this period and shed an additional 9,000 jobs in May. This employment loss occurred as the car rental industry suffered from a decline in both business and leisure travel. The loss was exacerbated by declining used car prices, which made selling used fleet vehicles less lucrative for automobile rental and leasing companies. One industry publication pegged the annual car rental revenue decline for 2020 at 27 percent. 85 Despite this dismal annual figure, the industry did see improvement in the second half of the year. Increased prices for used cars helped rental companies strengthen their financial position, and traveler preferences shifted toward automobile travel, which was perceived as safer than air, rail, and other forms of travel that involve close gatherings of people and provide limited opportunities for safe social distancing. 86 By the end of the year, employment in automotive equipment rental and leasing had rebounded somewhat, recovering 34 percent of its pandemic-related job losses. In the larger component, rental and leasing services, 24 percent of pandemic-related job losses were recovered by the close of 2020.

The real estate industry includes businesses that sell, buy, rent, lease, or manage real estate, both residential and commercial, for others. Employment in this industry fell by 115,000, or 7 percent, in March and April. These losses were spread across component industries, but the largest decline was in lessors of real estate, whose employment fell by 53,000, or 9 percent, over these 2 months. Lessors of real estate’s residential and nonresidential components both suffered job losses, having to deal with the problem of tenants being unable to pay rent because of pandemic-related layoffs or cuts in their workweek. 87 Within the residential component, establishments faced not only tenants struggling to keep up with their rent payments but also eviction prohibitions by various levels of government, finding themselves in a difficult financial situation. At the federal level, the CARES Act moratorium on evictions was in effect from March 27 to July 24, covering tenants living in “federally related properties,” a category estimated to include between 28 and 46 percent of all occupied rental units. On September 4, the CDC issued a moratorium on evictions, citing public health concerns associated with homelessness. This moratorium was initially intended to last through the end of 2020, but it has since been extended. 88 Although landlords were restrained by eviction prohibitions, they were helped by federal, state, and local government rental assistance programs, some of which allowed landlords to apply for benefits on behalf of their tenants. 89

Within lessors of real estate’s nonresidential component, lessors faced similar problems. Real estate service company Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis’s cash payments indexes, which serve as proxies for rent collections and indicators of tenants’ financial health, declined rapidly in the early days of the pandemic, with the retail sector being especially hard hit. 90 With employees largely working from home, office tenants sometimes demanded renegotiations of their leases. With few other prospective tenants, landlords often agreed. 91 By the end of the year, lessors of real estate had recovered 48 percent of the jobs lost in March and April.

A related industry, real estate property managers, faced the same business conditions. Lower rent revenue led to job losses in this industry, which lost a combined 31,000 jobs in March and April, an employment decline primarily concentrated in the industry’s residential component. By the end of the year, however, employment in the property management industry had regained 91 percent of these job losses.

Employment in offices of real estate agents declined by 29,000, or 8 percent, in March and April. This industry—in which businesses buy, sell, or rent real estate on behalf of others—played a part in one of the year’s prominent economic stories. After declining early in the pandemic, existing home sales recovered by the summer of 2020 and then expanded rapidly through much of the fall. Along with increasing home sales and prices, employment in offices of real estate agents rebounded, recovering 88 percent of the March and April job losses by the end of the year. 92

Among other financial activities industries, credit intermediation and related activities lost 34,000 jobs in March and April, an employment decline of only 1 percent. By the end of the year, 95 percent of these jobs had been recovered. Examples of businesses in this industry include banks, mortgage companies, and loan brokers. The nature of work at many of these businesses is well suited to having employees work from home, allowing this industry to adapt well to the pandemic. Other finance-related industries were similarly suited for remote work and saw little employment change during the pandemic.

By the end of 2020, the financial activities industry had recovered 64 percent of its March and April job losses.

Utilities

Employment in utilities changed little for the majority of 2020.

Conclusion

In 2020, the longest nonfarm payroll employment recovery and expansion in U.S. history abruptly ended, with historic and widespread employment declines occurring in March and April. State and local government restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19, coupled with pandemic-avoidance behaviors by the public, led to these unusually large job losses. Despite recovering quickly as restrictions eased, nonfarm employment still ended the year 10.0 million below its February peak. Job losses over the year were especially large in leisure and hospitality, government, education and health services, and professional and business services. None of the major industry sectors had fully recovered by the end of 2020.

Suggested citation:

Ryan Ansell, and John P. Mullins, "COVID-19 ends longest employment recovery and expansion in CES history, causing unprecedented job losses in 2020," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2021, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2021.13

Notes

1 The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, which provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls, is a monthly survey of about 144,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 697,000 individual worksites. For more information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Technical notes for the Current Employment Statistics survey” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm . To access CES data, see “Current Employment Statistics—CES (national)” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), https://www.bls.gov/ces . The CES data used in this article are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.

2 The CES employment series goes back to 1939. Prior to 2020, the two next highest annual job losses occurred during the Great Recession years of 2008 and 2009, when job losses were 3.6 million and 5.1 million, respectively. Job losses in 2020 were greater than the combined losses for 2008 and 2009.

3 See Maria Nicola, Zaid Alsafi, Catrin Sohrabi, Ahmed Kerwan, Ahmed Al-Jabir, Christos Iosifidis, Maliha Agha, and Riaz Agha, “The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): a review,” International Journal of Surgery , vol. 78, June 2020, pp. 185–193, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7162753/ .

4 See “Listings of WHO’s response to COVID-19” (World Health Organization, June 29, 2020), https://www.who.int/news/item/29-06-2020-covidtimeline .

5 See “First travel-related case of 2019 novel coronavirus detected in United States” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 21, 2020), https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p0121-novel-coronavirus-travel-case.html .

6 See “WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19—11 March 2020” (World Health Organization, March 11, 2020), https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 .

7 See “Trends in number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. reported to CDC, by state/territory” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated daily), https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailytrendscases .

8 See “A timeline of COVID-19 developments in 2020,” American Journal of Managed Care , updated January 1, 2021, https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020 .

9 According to one study, 27 percent of people polled said they would avoid eating in restaurants. See Mark Brandau, “COVID-19 report 2: fear and response” (Datassential, March 17, 2020), https://mcusercontent.com/45027c46b385d9b28f2d3a6d7/files/291b3e84-bd28-48a4-9f29-6c5e43d0bc2e/Datassential_Coronavirus_3_17_20_.pdf .

10 In September 1945, employment fell by 2.0 million, accelerating ongoing job losses. September’s losses were concentrated in manufacturing and coincided with declines in industrial production. See “Industrial production: total index” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/INDPRO .

11 The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Business Cycle Dating Committee is the generally recognized arbiter of business cycle turning points in the United States. The NBER defines recessions as economywide declines in economic activity lasting more than a few months that can be observed in major economic indicators, such as employment and output. Recession starting points are business cycle peaks, and recession ending points are business cycle troughs. The length and timing of the NBER-designated peaks and troughs do not necessarily align with the peaks and troughs in the CES employment series.

12 In both level and percent terms, the employment decline in April 2020 was the largest job change in CES history.

13 In each of the past four recessions, peaks in employment occurred within a month of peaks in the business cycle.

14 Hours and earnings data series for all employees originate in March 2006, and most hours and earnings data series for production and nonsupervisory employees originate in January 1964. Although production and nonsupervisory employees are defined differently for certain major industry sectors, they generally exclude workers whose primary duty is to supervise the work of others. In manufacturing and in mining and logging, production and nonsupervisory employees include only production and related employees. In construction, production and nonsupervisory employees include only construction employees, and in private service-providing industries, they include all nonsupervisory employees.

15 For an explanation of the CES aggregation procedures, see “Technical notes for the Current Employment Statistics survey” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm#section6d .

16 See Kim Parker, Rachel Minkin, and Jesse Bennett, “Economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to hit lower income Americans the hardest” (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, September 24, 2020), https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest/ .

17 The 12-month diffusion index is not seasonally adjusted.

18 According to nonseasonally adjusted annual average data for 2019, food services and drinking places employment made up 73 percent of total leisure and hospitality employment.

19 See Rebecca Klar, “More states close restaurants, entertainment venues amid pandemic,” The Hill , March 16, 2020, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/487776-new-york-new-jersey-connecticut-set-to-close-restaurants-entertainment .

20 In a national survey conducted between April 28 and May 3, 2020, 78 percent of respondents said they would not be comfortable dining in a restaurant, regardless of government restrictions. See “Washington Post–University of Maryland national poll, April 28–May 3, 2020,” The Washington Post , May 5, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/washington-post-university-of-maryland-national-poll-april-28-may-3-2020/9ac3c026-f68c-4733-82a0-daa6862d99b3/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2 ; and “Retail sales: restaurants and other eating places” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MRTSSM7225USN .

21 See Thomas Franck, “Restaurant bookings data show U.S. economy is starting to revive after Covid closures,” CNBC , May 27, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/27/restaurant-data-show-us-economy-is-recovering-after-covid-closures.html .

22 See “Official return to work guidelines for foodservice establishments” (Washington, DC: Restaurant Law Center, National Restaurant Association), https://restaurantlawcenter.org/archive-official-return-to-work-guidelines-for-foodservice-establishments/ .

23 See Jonathan Maze, “Fast food chains are thriving, some more than others,” Restaurant Business , November 30, 2020, https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/fast-food-chains-are-thriving-some-more-others ; Heather Haddon, “McDonald’s, Chipotle and Domino’s are booming during coronavirus while your neighborhood restaurant struggles,” The Wall Street Journal , October 12, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-chipotle-and-dominos-are-feasting-during-coronavirus-while-your-neighborhood-restaurant-fasts-11602302431 ; and David Vanamburg, “Why limited-service chains were better positioned for the pandemic than full-service restaurants” (American Customer Satisfaction Index, June 30, 2020), https://www.acsimatters.com/2020/06/30/why-limited-service-chains-were-better-positioned-for-the-pandemic-than-full-service-restaurants/.

24 See Chris Fuhrmeister, “‘Cessation of services’: food service companies lay off hundreds due to lack of college demand,” Atlanta Business Journal , August 20, 2020, https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2020/08/20/coronavirus-layoffs-colleges-foodservice-companies.html ; and Max Matza, “Coronavirus: the slow death of the American all-you-can-eat buffet,” BBC News , July 19, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53410931 .

25 See Madeline Holcombe, “Here are the states restricting travel from the US,” CNN , March 31, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/us/states-travel-restrictions-list/index.html .

26 See Scott McCartney, “The Covid pandemic could cut business travel by 36%—permanently,” The Wall Street Journal , December 1, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covid-pandemic-could-cut-business-travel-by-36permanently-11606830490?mod=article_inline .

27 See “U.S. COVID-19 travel guidelines,” VisitTheUSA.com , https://www.visittheusa.com/us-covid-19-travel-guidelines; and “STR: U.S. hotel performance for April 2020” (STR, May 20, 2020), https://str.com/press-release/str-us-hotel-performance-april-2020 .

28 See “STR: U.S. hotel performance for December 2020” (STR, January 20, 2021), https://str.com/press-release/str-us-hotel-performance-december-2020 .

29 See “The coronavirus spring: the historic closing of U.S. schools (a timeline),” Education Week , July 1, 2020, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/the-coronavirus-spring-the-historic-closing-of-u-s-schools-a-timeline/2020/07 .

30 In the CES survey, all persons employed by an establishment are included in the estimates for the industry into which that establishment has been classified, regardless of occupation. Therefore, employment estimates for state and local government education include not only teachers but also administrators and support staff employed by a school system.

31 When state and local government education industries are experiencing large employment changes not tied to the normal seasonal hiring or laying off of workers, employment gains on a seasonally adjusted basis can be misleading.

32 See Dana Goldstein and Eliza Shapiro, “Many students will be in classrooms only part of the week this fall,” The New York Times , June 26, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/coronavirus-schools-reopen-fall.html ; and Hristina Byrns, “Reopening schools amid COVID-19: a mix of in-person attendance, remote learning, and hybrid plans,” USA Today , August 3, 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/08/03/every-states-plan-to-reopen-schools-in-the-fall/112599652/ .

33 This industry is referred to as “health care” in all official CES news releases, websites, and databases, but it is referred to as “healthcare” in this article to conform to Government Printing Office publication standards.

34 See “CMS releases recommendations on adult elective surgeries, non-essential medical, surgical, and dental procedures during COVID-19 response” (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, March 18, 2020), https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-releases-recommendations-adult-elective-surgeries-non-essential-medical-surgical-and-dental .

35 See “State guidance on elective surgeries” (Alexandria, VA: Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, updated April 20, 2020), https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/resourcecenter/latestnewsresourcecenter/covid-19/covid-19-state .

36 One study estimated a 40-percent decline in outpatient visits after the first week of March 2020; another showed a decline of 60 percent. See Engy Ziedan, Kosali I. Simon, and Coady Wing, “Effects of state COVID-19 closure policy on non-COVID-19 health care utilization,” Working Paper 27621 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2020), https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27621/w27621.pdf ; Ateev Mehrotra, Michael Chernew, David Linetsky, Hilary Hatch, and David Cutler, “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient visits: a rebound emerges,” To The Point (The Commonwealth Fund, May 19, 2020), https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2020/apr/impact-covid-19-outpatient-visits ; and Rita Rubin, “COVID-19’s crushing effects on medical practices, some of which may not survive,” JAMA , vol. 324, no. 4, pp. 321–323, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2767633 .

37 See Anuja Vaidya, “30 states resuming elective surgeries,” Becker’s Hospital Review , updated May 15, 2020, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cardiology/11-states-resuming-elective-surgeries.html .

38 See Ateev Mehrotra, Michael Chernew, David Linetsky, Hilary Hatch, David Cutler, and Eric C. Schneider, “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient care: visits return to prepandemic levels, but not for all providers and patients” (The Commonwealth Fund, October 15, 2020), https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2020/oct/impact-covid-19-pandemic-outpatient-care-visits-return-prepandemic-levels .

39 See Alia Paavola, “266 hospitals furloughing workers in response to COVID-19,” Becker’s Hospital Review , updated August 31, 2020, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/49-hospitals-furloughing-workers-in-response-to-covid-19.html .

40 This industry is referred to as “child day care services” in all official CES news releases, websites, and databases, but it is referred to as “child daycare services” in this article to conform to Government Printing Office publication standards.

41 See Caroline Kitchener, “20,000 day cares may have closed in the pandemic. What happens when parents go back to work?” The Lily , February 22, 2021, https://www.thelily.com/20000-day-cares-may-have-closed-in-the-pandemic-what-happens-when-parents-go-back-to-work/ .

42 See Julie Kashen, “States are stepping up with emergency child care solutions for frontline essential personnel in response to COVID-19” (The Century Foundation, April 30, 2020), https://tcf.org/content/commentary/states-stepping-emergency-child-care-solutions-frontline-essential-personnel-response-covid-19/ .

43 See “Holding on until help comes: a survey reveals child care’s fight to survive” (Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, July 13, 2020), https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/our-work/public-policy-advocacy/holding_on_until_help_comes.survey_analysis_july_2020.pdf .

44 See ibid.; Ana North, “‘We are on our own’: how the coronavirus pandemic is hurting child care workers,” Vox , updated April 6, 2020, https://www.vox.com/2020/4/4/21203464/coronavirus-child-care-workers-pandemic-unemployment-cares-act ; Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Jeff Piper, “Thousands of local child care centers closed due to COVID-19,” NBC Washington , September 1, 2020, https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/thousands-of-local-child-care-centers-closed-due-to-covid-19/2406310/ ; and Abby Vesoulis, “COVID-19 has nearly destroyed the childcare industry—and it might be too late to save it,” Time , September 8, 2020, https://time.com/5886491/covid-childcare-daycare/ .

45 See “The need for social workers, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic” (Gwynedd Valley, PA: Gwynedd Mercy University, June 2, 2020), https://www.gmercyu.edu/news-and-events/news/need-social-workers-during-and-after-covid-19-pandemic .

46 See Tanya Lewis, “Nursing home workers had one of the deadliest jobs of 2020,” Scientific American , February 18, 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nursing-home-workers-had-one-of-the-deadliest-jobs-of-2020/ ; Jenna Carlesso and Kasturi Pananjady, “‘They can’t continue’: nursing homes struggle to maintain staffing as COVID cases continue to rise,” CT Mirror , December 10, 2020, https://ctmirror.org/2020/12/10/they-cant-continue-nursing-homes-struggle-to-maintain-staffing-as-covid-cases-continue-to-rise/ ; and Will Englund, “In a relentless pandemic, nursing-home workers are worn down and stressed out,” The Washington Post , December 3, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/03/nursing-home-burnout/ .

47 See Sophie Quinton, “Staffing nursing homes was hard before the pandemic. Now it’s even tougher,” Fierce Healthcare , May 18, 2020, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals-health-systems/staffing-nursing-homes-was-hard-before-pandemic-now-it-s-even-tougher .

48 See “Spring 2021 enrollment (as of March 25)” (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, April 29, 2021), https://nscresearchcenter.org/stay-informed/ ; “As Covid-19 pummels budgets, colleges are resorting to layoffs and furloughs. Here’s the latest,” The Chronicle of Higher Education , May 13, 2020, https://www.chronicle.com/article/were-tracking-employees-laid-off-or-furloughed-by-colleges/ ; and Abigail Johnson Hess, “At least 50,904 college workers have been laid off or furloughed because of Covid-19,” CNBC Make It , July 2, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/02/218-colleges-have-laid-off-or-furloughed-employees-due-to-covid-19.html .

49 As was the case with government education industries, when educational services are experiencing large employment changes not tied to the normal seasonal hiring or laying off of workers, employment gains on a seasonally adjusted basis can be misleading.

50 See “Staffing jobs hit historic low amid pandemic” (Alexandria, VA: American Staffing Association, April 21, 2020), https://americanstaffing.net/posts/2020/04/21/staffing-jobs-hit-historic-low-amid-pandemic/ .

51 See “Staffing jobs tick up in May” (Alexandria, VA: American Staffing Association, May 27, 2000), https://americanstaffing.net/posts/2020/05/27/staffing-jobs-tick-up-in-may/ ; and Stephanie Hegarty, “Staffing firms are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic economy” (First Advantage, November 9, 2020), https://fadv.com/blog/staffing-firms-are-adapting-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-economy/ .

52 See “Pandemic fallout: US tech sector sheds record number of jobs in April, CompTIA analysis reveals,” Cision PR Newswire , May 8, 2020, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pandemic-fallout-us-tech-sector-sheds-record-number-of-jobs-in-april-comptia-analysis-reveals-301055911.html ; and Tekla S. Perry, “Tech jobs in the time of COVID,” IEEE Spectrum , May 5, 2020, https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/tech-careers/tech-jobs-in-the-time-of-covid .

53 See “Guidance on the essential critical infrastructure workforce: ensuring community and national resilience in COVID-19 response,” version 3.0 (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, April 17, 2020), https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Version_3.0_CISA_Guidance_on_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_Workers_1.pdf .

54 See “Domestic auto production” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DAUPSA#0 ; and Michael Martinez, Hannah Lutz, and Vince Bond Jr., “Detroit 3 begin to idle North American plants,” Automotive News , March 18, 2020, https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/detroit-3-begin-idle-north-american-plants .

55 See Neal E. Boudette, “As sales rise, automakers ramp up production,” The New York Times , June 24, 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/business/auto-industry-coronavirus-recovery.html .

56 See “Union opposes reopening U.S. meat plants as more workers die,” Reuters , May 8, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-meat/union-opposes-reopening-u-s-meat-plants-as-more-workers-die-idUSKBN22K2WP .

57 See “Advance retail sales: retail (excluding food services)” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RSXFS .

58 See “Advance retail sales: clothing and clothing accessory stores” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RSCCAS .

59 See “Total vehicle sales” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TOTALSA .

60 See “Cars.com: pandemic spurs new ways to buy and sell cars,” Cars.com , July 27, 2020, https://www.cars.com/articles/cars-com-pandemic-spurs-new-ways-to-buy-and-sell-cars-digitally-424717/ .

61 See Nora Naughton, “U.S. auto sales showed signs of recovery in third quarter,” The Wall Street Journal , updated October 1, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-auto-sales-show-signs-of-recovery-in-third-quarter-11601569086 .

62 See Ignacio Felix, Adrian Martin, Vivek Mehta, and Curt Mueller, “Changes in consumer behavior continue to ripple through the US food and agricultural supply chains. What should companies do now?” (McKinsey & Company, July 2, 2020), https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/us-food-supply-chain-disruptions-and-implications-from-covid-19 .

63 See Tahir Islam, Abdul Hameed Pitafi, Vikas Arya, Ying Wang, Naeem Akhtar, Shujaat Mubarik, and Liang Xiaobei, “Panic buying in the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country examination,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , vol. 59, March 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0969698920313655 ; and Anuradha Varanasi, “Panic buying during the Covid-19 pandemic associated with psychological distress & higher income: study,” Forbes , January 30, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2021/01/30/panic-buying-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-associated-with-psychological-distress--higher-income-study/?sh=740a3eed267a .

64 See Julia Carpenter, “Home-improvement stocks stay the course amid nesting during Covid-19,” The Wall Street Journal , updated August 21, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/home-improvement-stocks-stay-the-course-amid-nesting-during-covid-19-11598011211 .

65 See “Where states reopened and cases spiked after the U.S. shutdown,” The Washington Post , updated September 11, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/states-reopening-coronavirus-map/ .

66 According to Traffic Volume Trends reports from the U.S. Department of Transportation ( https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/tvt.cfm ), vehicle miles traveled fell by 19 percent in March and by 27 percent in April, before rising by 24 percent in May and by 16 percent in June.

67 See Russell Redman, “Pandemic taught grocery supply chain valuable lessons,” Supermarket News , January 29, 2021, https://www.supermarketnews.com/issues-trends/pandemic-taught-grocery-supply-chain-valuable-lessons .

68 See Gary Drenik, “Growth in direct-to-consumer ecosystem brings new challenges for brands and opportunities for consumers,” Forbes , November 10, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/garydrenik/2020/11/10/growth-in-direct-to-consumer-ecosystem-brings-new-challenges-for-brands-and-opportunities-for-consumers/?sh=45b6dbca618d ; and “E-commerce, trade and the COVID-19 pandemic,” information note (World Trade Organization, May 4, 2020), https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/ecommerce_report_e.pdf .

69 See “Coronavirus cancellations: every film, TV show, and event affected by the outbreak,” IndieWire , August 11, 2020, https://www.indiewire.com/feature/coronavirus-cancellations-hollywood-entertainment-covid19-1202215596/ .

70 See “Select information on construction industry jobs due to coronavirus (Covid-19) in the United States as of May 2020” (Statista, May 2020), https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116499/covid-19-us-construction-industry-jobs/ .

71 See “Total construction spending: residential in the United States” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLRESCONS ; and “Total construction spending: nonresidential in the United States” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLNRESCONS .

72 See “New privately-owned housing units started: total units” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST ; and “New one family houses sold: United States” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HSN1F .

73 See “Spot crude oil price: West Texas Intermediate (WTI)” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WTISPLC .

74 See “Lessons from the past: informing the mining industry’s trajectory to the next normal” (McKinsey & Company, July 24, 2020), https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/lessons-from-the-past-informing-the-mining-industrys-trajectory-to-the-next-normal .

75 Employees who work as contractors, such as those working for rideshare companies, are not included in CES estimates, which exclude the self-employed.

76 For examples of transit system traffic declines, see Katherine Shaver, “Metro preparing for possibility of scaling back service if too many employees call in sick from coronavirus,” The Washington Post , March 12, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2020/03/12/metro-preparing-possibility-scaling-back-service-if-too-many-employees-call-sick-coronavirus/ ; Erica Pieschke, “BART cancels extra commute trains after ridership drops nearly 90%,” KRON , March 18, 2020, https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bart-cancels-extra-commute-trains-after-ridership-drops-nearly-90/ ; and Laura Bliss, “When the world stops moving,” Bloomberg , March 19, 2020, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/the-mobility-impacts-of-coronavirus .

77 Only private employment is included in CES estimates for the transportation and warehousing industry group. For example, employees of a company contracted to operate a city’s transit system or a county’s school bus network would be classified in the transportation and warehousing industry. Employees of government agencies providing the same services, however, would be classified in the government sector. According to a 2013 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), “61 percent of 463 transit agencies responding to GAO’s survey reported they contract out some or all operations and services”; see “Public transit: transit agencies’ use of contracting to provide service,” GAO-13-782 (U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 2013), https://www.gao.gov/assets/660/658171.pdf . In addition, a New York Times article reported that 40 percent of school bus service is provided by private companies; see Pranshu Verma, “‘End of the line’: school bus industry in crisis because of the coronavirus,” The New York Times , August 28, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/coronavirus-school-buses.html .

78 See “Air revenue passenger miles” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AIRRPMTSID11 . Air revenue passenger miles are a measure of the volume of air passenger transportation. An air revenue passenger mile is equal to one paying passenger carried 1 mile.

79 See Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136, 2020, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748 ; and Frank S. Murray Jr., Jared B. Rifis, Leah R. Imbrogno, Jamie N. Class, Julia Di Vito, Kaitlyn M. Foley, and Michael A. Donadio, “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (‘CARES Act’) is enacted into law” (Foley & Lardner LLP, March 27, 2020), https://www.foley.com/en/insights/publications/2020/03/coronavirus-cares-act-enacted-into-law .

80 The Cass Freight Index, a measure of North American freight volumes and expenditures, “includes all domestic freight modes and is derived from more than 33 million invoices and more than $26 billion in spend processed by Cass annually on behalf of its client base of hundreds of large shippers. These companies represent a broad sampling of industries including consumer packaged goods, food, automotive, chemical, medical/pharma, OEM, retail and heavy equipment.” See “A measure of North American freight volumes” (Cass Information Systems, Inc.), https://www.cassinfo.com/freight-audit-payment/cass-transportation-indexes/cass-freight-index ; and “Cass Freight Index: shipments” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FRGSHPUSM649NCIS .

81 Truck tonnage is a measure of the gross tonnage of freight transported by motor carriers in the United States. The estimates cited here come from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (see https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=truck) and are calculated by using data for the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index of the American Trucking Associations.

82 See “Parcel experts weigh in on FedEx & UPS so far throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Logistics Management , June 8, 2020, https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/parcel_experts_weigh_in_on_fedex_ups_so_far_throughout_the_covid_19_pandemi .

83 See “Survey: US consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis” (McKinsey & Company, May 13, 2021), https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/survey-us-consumer-sentiment-during-the-coronavirus-crisis .

84 See “Table 1. Estimated quarterly U.S. retail sales: total and e-commerce” (U.S. Census Bureau, last revised May 18, 2021), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AIRRPMTSID11 ; and “E-commerce retail sales as a percent of total sales” (FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ECOMPCTSA .

85 The U.S. Census Bureau does publish data on rental car company revenues, but it did not publish anything in 2020 because of sample variability. For the industry source of data on revenue declines, see “U.S. car rental revenue dives 27.4% in 2020,” Auto Rental News , December 16, 2020, https://www.autorentalnews.com/10132672/u-s-car-rental-revenue-dives-27-4-in-2020 .

86 See Nora Naughton, “Covid-19 slammed rental-car firms, then business turned around,” The Wall Street Journal , November 2, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-more-americans-hitting-the-road-for-travel-rental-car-companies-revive-11604317493 .

87 See Annie Nova, “Millions of Americans may not be able to pay their rent in October. What to do if you’re one of them,” CNBC , October 2, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/millions-of-americans-may-not-be-able-to-pay-rent-in-october.html .

88 See “Federal eviction moratoriums in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” CRS Insight (Congressional Research Service, updated March 30, 2021), https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11516 .

89 See “Rental assistance in COVID-19 relief packages” (Washington, DC: National Association of Home Builders), https://www.nahb.org/advocacy/industry-issues/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-preparedness/key-housing-provisions-in-covid-19-relief-package/rental-assistance-in-covid-19-relief-package .

90 See “COVID & collections: are occupiers paying their bills?” U.S. Market Flash (CBRE, August 10, 2020), https://www.cbre.us/research-and-reports/US-MarketFlash-COVID-Collections-Are-Occupiers-Paying-Their-Bills.

91 See Shawn Moura, “Working together as a team: negotiating with tenants and leasing space during COVID-19” (Herndon, VA: Commercial Real Estate Development Association), https://www.naiop.org/research-and-publications/research-reports/reports/working-together-as-a-team-negotiating-with-tenants-and-leasing-space-during-covid-19/ .

92 CES data exclude the self-employed. Real estate sales agents are generally self-employed workers rather than employees of the real estate agency with which they are affiliated. See “Licensed real estate agents—real estate tax tips” (Internal Revenue Service), https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/licensed-real-estate-agents-real-estate-tax-tips .

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