Real estate and retail shutdowns driving Tri-State slump

The economic slowdown that is throttling the U.S. has seen economic output drop by three-quarters in some industries, including food services and arts and entertainment.

In the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the coronavirus-caused slowdown is most acute in the real estate and retail sectors, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a report from the Economic Innovation Group.

A separate analysis from Moody’s found that at least a quarter of the U.S. economy has been taken offline amid the pandemic.

Lockdown orders have impacted eight of 10 counties that represent almost 96 percent of the national output, and daily output has dropped by 29 percent compared to the first week in March, according to the study.

In Manhattan, daily output is down by 25 percent, and in Los Angeles County, it is down by 35 percent. In Chicago’s Cook County, it is down by 30 percent.

Yearly output dropped by 26 percent during the Great Depression between 1929 and 1933, and quarterly output dropped by 4 percent between 2007 and 2009, the previous major recession.

Output has dropped by about $350 billion since the state-mandated closures began taking place. Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, said the best point of comparison for what the economy is going through now would be the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks or a massive earthquake.

“It’s like if Indiana disappeared for an entire year,” he said. [WSJ] — Eddie Small