Lessons from the 2020 Covid recession for understanding regional resilience

The 2020 Covid‐19 recession differs from past recessions due to the immediate economic collapse, making it a unique setting in which to assess local economic resilience. Using county‐level data, we identify initial effects of the pandemic and accompanying stay‐at‐home orders on consumer spending, unemployment insurance claims, small businesses, and low‐income employment and earnings. We discuss heterogeneity related to pre‐pandemic county characteristics and find differences compared to past recessions. Counties with larger leisure services employment shares fared worse, while counties with less‐educated, younger workforces fared better. We find an ambiguous role of small businesses in contrast with favorable impacts during prior downturns.