Since February, the economy has slumped into a recession, likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For a variety of reasons, certain states are faring better than others and residents in Delaware may be among those struggling most. Lending Tree found that Delaware is 2nd among states seeing the least economic recovery.
LendingTree analyzed five economic metrics (consumer spending, the number of open small businesses, small business revenue, job postings, and unemployment rate) to find the states that are closest and furthest to seeing pre-pandemic economic conditions. A quick look at what they found:
In Delaware, the state with the second-worst economic recovery, consumer spending was sitting 16.4% below January levels. The lack of spending may be affecting small businesses, as 22.1% fewer businesses are open relative to January.
Nevada has made up the least ground in getting its economy back to pre-pandemic levels. The state’s unemployment rate was 9.6 percentage points higher than in January. Many of those workers will struggle to find work, as job postings were 30.3% below January levels.
Idaho’s economy has gotten the closest to reaching pre-pandemic levels. Small business revenue in August was just 5% below January levels, while the August unemployment rate in the state was only 1.4 percentage points above what it was in January.
Overall, no state has returned to pre-pandemic levels in any of the categories outside of a few states that saw consumer spending levels return.
Source: Lending Tree
