‘DISASTER’

Coronavirus Has Shut Down 29 Percent of U.S. Economy: WSJ

One-tenth of the drop in U.S. daily output was tied to just three counties containing Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.

More than one-fourth of the American economy has come to a standstill amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to a study from Moody’s Analytics, the daily output of the U.S. economy has fallen about 29 percent compared to the first week of March. While over 40 states have ordered some businesses to shutter due to COVID-19, the chief economist at Moody’s stated that many businesses in U.S. counties will re-open before the summer—resulting in about a 30 percent decline in the second-quarter GDP. The study also found that the U.S. economy was disproportionately tied to urban areas, with a tenth of the U.S. drop in daily output being tied to three counties: Los Angeles, New York County, and Chicago’s Cook County, Illinois.

While current daily output has fallen more than the annual output during the Great Depression (1929-1933) and quarterly output during the last recession (late 2007 and mid-2009), chief economist Mark Zandi said the current economic situation was more like a “natural disaster” or the 9/11 terror attacks rather than the Great Depression.