Economy Report, Six Months Into The Sinkhole Of 2020

CHICAGO, IL – The pandemic of coronavirus has taken a major economic toll on the economy. Both nationally and especially in Chicago.

This issue is pretty near and dear to my heart. If I may recount, my girlfriend (at the time) and I going to Chicago for her birthday. I remember being so proud of myself. Not only because I got these tickets for an affordable price, but because I was also so sure that our first trip out of the state could strengthen our relationship. Sadly, the virus became more prevalent. I ended up getting a full reimbursement and using that money to visit the folks in Florida. As for my former love, we never got to enjoy the Windy City on her birthday. It pains me to recall it was only a month later that we went our separate ways. At times I wonder if the coronavirus really changed anything in me or just made the obvious more emboldened.

One thing’s for sure, Chicago’s not doing so hot.

Within a six-month period, thousands of area workers were furloughed. Businesses shut down. People were still vain, but they weren’t buying anything more than hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Spending has since dropped to about 43%. As economics professor from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) attests, consumers and merchants don’t make decisions well with poor outcomes. “That’s the worst thing for the economy.”

Unemployment has been especially peaking in Chicago. It spiked higher than the rest of the U.S. at the height of the pandemic. Alternatively, job postings went down by 18% in August. Well, not all job postings. Tech companies went up, up and away by 13%. (Shout-out to Instacart and Grubhub for employing more back-enders, despite never getting my address right for delivery.)

What’s more, an economy folding on itself drops the prices of homes, while raising their values. Demand for rental properties are cooling down in any case.