Study: Hawai‘i’s Economy is 3rd Most Hit by Coronavirus

Hawaiʻi’s economy was the third most hit by Coronavirus according to a new study published today by WalletHub.  The study compared states’ economic vulnerability using 13 key metrics including share of employment from small business.  

The most weight went to the share of each state’s GDP and workforce that are from highly affected industries, and the rate at which initial unemployment insurance claims are being made.

The study showed Louisiana’s economy was hit most, followed by Oklahoma and Hawaiʻi. Ohio and Nevada rounded out the top five. Meantime, Washington’s economy was hit least by coronavirus impacts. 

Impact of COVID-19 on Hawaiʻi Economy (1=Most, 25=Avg.):

• 2^nd – GDP Generated by Highly Affected Industries as Share of Total State GDP
• 5^th – Share of Employment from Highly Affected Industries
• 21^st – WalletHub’s “States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest” Score
• 14^th – Share of Employment from Small Businesses
• 21^st – Share of Workers Working from Home
• 1^st – Share of Workers with Access to Paid Sick Leave
• 4^th – State Rainy Day Funds as Share of State Expenditures
• 27^th – State Fiscal Condition Index

What will the coming months be like for most state economies?

“State economies should be bolstered in the coming months through a combination of vaccination and the American Rescue Plan. As more people become eligible for the vaccine and receive it, states will continue to eliminate restrictions, which will lead to greater spending at businesses and a reduction in unemployment,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The American Rescue Plan should work wonders for state economies, too, through a combination of individuals spending more due to their stimulus checks, businesses avoiding layoffs through PPP loans and states getting federal funding to replace lost tax revenue.”

What makes one state’s economy more exposed to coronavirus than another state’s economy?

“This pandemic has hit certain industries especially hard, such as accommodation and food services, entertainment and retail trade. Some states have a higher concentration of jobs in highly affected industries or a higher share of state GDP from those industries than others,” said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “WalletHub’s study used 13 core metrics to measure the impact of COVID-19 on state economies, with the most weight going to the share of each state’s GDP and workforce that are from highly affected industries, along with the rate at which initial unemployment insurance claims are being made.”

Why has Louisiana’s economy been hit the most by coronavirus?

“Louisiana’s economy has been hit the most by coronavirus because prior to the pandemic it had a high share of employment in some of the most impacted industries, including oil and gas extraction; accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment and recreation; and retail trade,” said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “Louisiana doesn’t have a lot of extra cash to fall back on during its financial troubles, as the state’s rainy-day fund is able to cover just 5.4 percent of its general fund expenses for 2021.”

Why has Washington’s economy been hit the least by coronavirus?

“One reason why Washington’s economy is hit the least by coronavirus is that it has the third best work from home infrastructure and one of the largest shares of workers working from home,” said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “In addition to a good work from home infrastructure, Washington has seen one of the smallest reductions in Real GDP during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

The full report is available here.