Labor Market Impacts of the Covid in US – Reductions in employment, and the associated increases in employment exit rates and decreases in hiring rates, were disproportionately concentrated in low-wage jobs

We study the distributional consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts on employment.

Using data through April 2020 from the Current Population Survey (CPS) — the primary source of labor force statistics for the United States — we document three key facts. First, we show that the pandemic-induced reductions in employment, and the associated increases in employment exit rates and decreases in hiring rates, were disproportionately concentrated in low-wage jobs. Service sector employment suffered the worst outcomes, but even within service sector industries, job losses were greater for lower-wage occupations. Second, we show that job losses were disproportionately concentrated among younger workers, those with less education, racial and ethnic minorities, and women. Third, we show that, with the exception of women, the disproportionate job losses for workers from disadvantaged groups cannot be fully explained by their pre-pandemic industry and occupation affiliation.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @ “The Heterogeneous Labor Market Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic” by Guido Matias Cortes and Eliza C. Forsythe