Employment Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic across Metropolitan Status and Size

Seung Jin Cho, Jun Yeong Lee () and John Winters
Additional contact information
Jun Yeong Lee: Iowa State University

No 13468, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment losses across metropolitan area status and population size. Non-metropolitan and metropolitan areas of all sizes experienced significant employment losses, but the impacts are much larger in large metropolitan areas. Employment losses manifest as increased unemployment, labor force withdrawal, and temporary absence from work. We examine the role of individual and local area characteristics in explaining differing employment losses across metropolitan status and size. The local COVID-19 infection rate is a major driver of differences across MSA size. Industry mix and employment density also matter. The pandemic significantly altered urban economic activity.

Keywords: urbanization; agglomeration; employment; pandemic; COVID-19; cities; density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J2 R2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2020-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-lma and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Growth and Change, 2021, 52 (4), 1958-1996

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Related works:
Journal Article: Employment impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic across metropolitan status and size (2021)
Working Paper: Employment Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic across Metropolitan Status and Size (2020)
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