The pandemic and related restrictions shocked the U.S. job market earlier this year, leading to a labor-force reordering as the economy recovered. Jobs have declined at retail stores, restaurants and bars and grown at warehouse and transportation businesses that serve online customers as e-commerce flourishes.
Here is a breakdown of how jobs in various categories of the labor market cumulatively changed from February, just before the pandemic hit the U.S., to November.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Courier and messenger jobs have increased every month since February, growing the sector by more than 20% as of November. Overall employment across industries is down 6.5% from February.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Warehouse jobs stumbled early, then started growing to exceed pre-pandemic levels.
Rail jobs fell and stagnated, extending a yearslong decline amid fewer shipments of coal and industrial commodities.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Airline employment plunged in the spring when the pandemic disrupted travel, then grew modestly over the summer before falling again in October after federal support expired.
Top Industries
Top 50 industries by laborforce size.
Note: National figures are seasonally adjusted, state figures are not. States may exclude smaller industries and sectors.
Source: Labor Department
Restaurants and bars lost their place as the largest major employment category tracked by the Labor Department. Reopenings have allowed the industry to recover somewhat, though the latest surge in virus cases could set it back again.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Arts and sports employment came to a halt early in the pandemic, shedding nearly half of the sector’s jobs. Those jobs have started to come back unevenly across the country.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How have the events of the past year affected your work life? Join the conversation below.
Professional and technical jobs, which often require college degrees, have experienced a smaller decline as many employees shifted to working from home. As offices closed, the staff who kept them running suffered.
Administrative and support staff—including secretaries, janitors and security guards—saw deeper cuts and have experienced less of a recovery than the one seen in overall employment.
The real-estate sector has largely recovered from spring losses amid a housing boom. In contrast, leasing offices shed more than 20% of jobs and have been slow to add them back.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
Travel-related jobs have been slow to recover. Accommodations jobs fell by 1 million early in the pandemic and have gained back 375,000. Tourism-dependent states such as Hawaii and Nevada have felt the hit more than others.
Note: Cumulative, seasonally adjusted change since February
Source: Labor Department
The New York City region that includes New York, New Jersey and Connecticut was hit hard early in the pandemic. Those states saw some of the highest unemployment rates in November.
Other states such as Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa that didn’t enact as severe restrictions as many coastal states have had more recent Covid-19 surges but among the lowest unemployment rates.
States ranked by unemployment rate
Source: Labor Department
Compare change in payrolls across states and industries
Notes: Cumulative change since February; national payroll figures are seasonally adjusted; state figures are not
Source: Labor Department
Write to Eric Morath at [email protected]
Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
