Economics & Demographics • Section 4
of the economy felt the negative effects of the coronavirus, self-storage was no exception. The pandemic drove the U.S. into recession, and it is expected to have lasting effects, per- haps for years to come.
C But this recession was different from previous down-
turns. First of all, it was government induced. Multiple stay-at-home orders from local and state governments led to temporary closures of numerous restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment centers.
The jobless numbers and gross domestic product (GDP)
were evidence of a recessionary trend, however, the stock market, housing, and certain retail—such as online out- lets—don’t reflect a traditional recession.
The stock market began 2020 in record territory, but the
Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by more than 10,000 points in March when government restrictions went into effect. Stocks recovered during the summer and went into September slightly higher than January’s average.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent in August,
down significantly from 14.7 percent in April and 10.2 per- cent in July. The new rate dropped below the peak of the last recession a decade ago, when unemployment hit 10 per- cent. However, unemployment is still higher than the peak of many past recessions, according to the New York Times.
The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy add-
ed 1.4 million jobs in August, compared to 1.7 million in July and 4.8 million in June. Payrolls were still more than 11 mil- lion jobs below their pre-pandemic level.
OVID-19 defined the economy in 2020 as the pandemic forced closures of many businesses, sending millions of Americans to unemployment lines. Every segment
Even as people returned to work, many workers found that layoffs were permanent.
In August, less than half of
unemployed workers reported being on temporary layoff or furlough. That figure was nearly 80 percent in April, the Times said.
A persistently high level of confirmed viral cases has dam-
aged several industries, especially those involved with travel, tourism, and entertainment. In August, the government said roughly 1 million people applied for unemployment ben- efits in a week—a historically high level that has prevailed for some time.
Fortune reported in June that more than 45 million people
had filed for unemployment during the pandemic, which was more than the combined population of 23 U.S. states.
Consumer Confidence And Spending Consumer confidence cratered following the onslaught of COVID-19. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment for the U.S. was 74.1 in August, which was 17.5 points below the August 2019 index, but the result was above the 72.5 index in July.
The gain in August
reflected fewer concerns about the year-ahead outlook for the economy, although those pros- pects still remained half as favorable as the previ- ous six months.
2010 9.8 9.8 9.9 9.9 9.6 9.4 9.4 9.5 9.5 9.4 9.8 9.3 2011 9.1 9.0
9.0
8.0 6.6
7.7 6.7
7.5 6.7
9.1 9.0
7.6 6.2
7.5 6.3
9.1 9.0
7.5 6.1
7.3 6.2
9.0
7.2 6.1
9.0
7.2 5.9
8.8 8.6
7.2 5.7
6.9 5.8
8.5
2012 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.1 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.9 2013 2014
6.7 5.6
2015 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.0 2016 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.9 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.7 2017 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.1 2018 4.1 4.1 2019
4.0 2020 3.6
3.8 3.5
4.0 3.8 4.4
4.0 3.8 3.6
3.6 14.7 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Statistics 13.3
4.0 3.8 3.7
3.7 11.1 * Not Available 10.2
3.8 3.7 3.7 8.4
3.5 7.9 *
3.5 *
Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19
Aug-19 Sep-19 Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19
91.2
93.8 98.4 97.2 100
98.2 98.4 89.8 93.2 95.5 96.8 99.3
3.8 3.7 3.9 3.6
3.5 *
Jan-20 99.8 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20
101 89.1 71.8 72.3 78.1 72.5
Aug-20 74.1 Sep-20
Source: Global
Economy.com 2021 Self-Storage Almanac 41 78.9
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