SURVEY SHOWS NATIONAL ECONOMIC DECLINE; PACE OF RECOVERY

A new study released by Moody’s Analytics indicates that the country is in the process of recovering from the Covid-19 outbreak and economic shutdown.

But that recovery, suggests the study, isn’t happening overnight.

Starting in early March with the number 100 in what it calls a Back-to-Normal Index, Moody’s says that figure, measuring economic activity among other factors, declined to less than 60 by late April.

Since then, the number has slowly improved, reaching just over 70 in early July, dipping slightly as infection rates during that month increased, and now coming in at just under 80.

The index takes into consideration such factors as the unemployment rate, gross domestic product, home sales, and consumer spending.

By state, the index reveals that New York, Illinois, and California are still categorized as underperforming.

Moody’s also puts Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas into the underperforming column, scoring a recovery rate of 74%.

Colorado’s recovery was rated higher at 82%.

States in the upper Midwest and Rocky Mountains region have turned in the strongest performances, with Montana and Wyoming thought to be enjoying an 89% recovery, followed by Idaho at 88%.

Said Mark Zandi, an economist with Moody’s: “Economic activity nationwide is down by almost one-fourth its pre-pandemic level—far from normal.”

Continued Zandi: “As bad as that is, it’s substantially better than the darkest days of the pandemic in mid-April when we were unsure how contagious or virulent the virus was.”
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Moody’s Analytics is a subsidiary of the New York-based Moody’s Corporation.

By Garry Boulard

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