The effects of COVID-19 have not been felt evenly across industries, occupational groups, or geography. For the protection of public health, the first wave of executive orders from the Governor’s Office compelled the closure of non-essential businesses and businesses that typically require close customer contact. Executive Order 20-04 closed many doors in the Leisure & Hospitality industry effective March 17. Accordingly, weekly UI application data beginning March 16 show us that statewide, the first two weeks of COVID-19 related UI applications were dominated by applications from workers in food preparation and serving related occupations. As the shutdown continued, other types of businesses began to feel the effects as well. The number of applications began to decrease the week ending April 11, following an initial rush of applications (over 338,000 in the first three weeks), and some occupations with low impacts during the first three weeks experienced relative increases in claims shares over the following three weeks.

Continue reading Evolution of Employment Impacts across the State and in Northeast Minnesota.