MADISON — A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum uses 2019 jobs data to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on the state economy.
While it is too early to know the full economic effects of the coronavirus crisis, the report focuses on four sectors already significantly impacted by “safer at home” and social distancing orders. It found that workers in these sectors already earned low wages relative to the rest of the state, and tourism-dependent areas are likely to be hardest hit financially by the pandemic, based on the percentage of jobs in these sectors.
The four hard-hit sectors chosen as the focus of the report are accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; personal care services; and most types of retail trade not deemed essential.
Jobs in these sectors accounted for 17.2% of the state’s workforce during the first two quarters of 2019 — or more than one in six jobs. Average wages for related positions were at least 34% lower than the state average at the end of that time period.
Nearly all of the hardest-hit counties are located in northern Wisconsin or other popular tourism destinations, such as Wisconsin Dells, Lake Geneva and Door County.
