Which Earnings Groups Have Been Most Affected by the COVID-19 Crisis?

Abstract

The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis has had unprecedented negative effects on the aggregate US economy, but especially on the labor market. The unemployment rate jumped from 3.5 per cent to 14.7 per cent between February and April and only slightly decreased to 13.3 per cent in May. Fifty million initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims have been filed so far this year, which is about 10 million more than total initial UI claims filed during the Great Recession. Besides its aggregate effects on the labor market, the COVID-19 crisis has had disproportionate effects on certain individuals. In this essay, we explore the differential labor market impacts across the earnings distribution.