States That Are Recovering the Quickest From COVID-19

Across the nation we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel due to social distaining, facemasks and vaccines. Vaccines can still be infected and help to spread the virus around. Use of facemask and social distancing will still be required to support the world to control this pandemic.

The global economy is expected to expand 4% in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. But unless policy makers move decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms, the World Bank says in its January 2021 Global Economic Prospects.

With the unemployment rate at 6% and around 32% of the population fully vaccinated, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States That Are Recovering the Quickest from COVID-19.

To identify the states that are having the most successful recoveries, they compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 key metrics. Their data set ranges from the share of the population fully vaccinated to the real GDP vs. pre-COVID levels.

Q&A with WalletHub

How does a state's public health recovery impact its economic recovery?

“A state’s public health recovery is essential for its economic recovery. The biggest factors hurting the economy are restrictions on businesses and high unemployment, both of which are a direct result of necessary public health measures put in place to curb the pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “As COVID-19 cases and deaths decline in a state, the government can loosen restrictions and businesses can hire more as a result. Prioritizing vaccination will speed up the country’s public health recovery, which in turn will accelerate the economic recovery.”

Why are some states able to recover from the pandemic a lot faster than others?

“There are many reasons why some states are able to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than others, some of which are that certain states have done a better job of minimizing COVID-19 transmission and have vaccinated residents at higher rates,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “A state's climate can have a big impact on its recovery, too. States that are warmer, like Florida, allow people to be outside more easily, which give extra protection to the elderly and other vulnerable demographics. This has led to an economic boom for warmer states, and as people consider where to relocate after the pandemic, climate and tax rates will be among the biggest factors in their decisions.”

Why does South Dakota rank as having the quickest recovery from COVID-19?

“South Dakota ranks as having the quickest recovery from COVID-19 in part because it is one of only two states in the country whose unemployment rates have decreased between March 2019 and March 2021,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “South Dakota is one of only three states that experienced an increase in small-business work hours compared to pre-pandemic levels, too, and it has the highest share of residents who are fully vaccinated.”

Why does Michigan rank as having the slowest recovery from COVID-19?

“Michigan ranks as having the slowest recovery from COVID-19 in part because it has some of the highest COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates in the country,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Michigan has seen one of the biggest declines in real GDP due to the pandemic, and it’s one of only 14 states with restrictions in place for gatherings of over 25 people.”

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-covid-recovery/90947

Courtesy: WalletHub