Economic Impact of COVID-19

In addition to its health impact, COVID-19 is leading to unprecedented economic disruption. On this page we collect pieces by CROWE researchers tracking and analyzing the economic impact of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and around the world.

Air-Traffic Data Chinese Economy Foot-Traffic Data WI Workers & Firms Workers Most at Risk Economically
Unemployment benefits Forecasting Unemployment Claims Growth of Unemployment Claims

CROWE in the media

Updated April 9, 2020

8 April, 2020

Air Traffic Data as a Proxy for Economic Activity in the Transportation Sector

The aviation sector is among the sectors most heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief uses real-time data to track the decline in flights and passengers at a daily frequency in Wisconsin and beyond since the introduction of broad social distancing measures in mid-March of 2020. Simeon Alder, 8 April, 2020

6 April, 2020

The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese Economy

Overall, many different indicators in the Chinese economy showed declines of 20% or more, and 30% or more relative to their pre-crisis trends, during the peak crisis month of February 2020, with substantial variation across regions and industries. Chang Liu, April 6, 2020

8 April, 2020

Measuring Wisconsin Economic Activity Using Foot Traffic Data

Foot traffic data shows an overall decline of over 50% in economic activity in Wisconsin in the last week in March (compared to a year earlier), with industries like restaurants seeing even larger declines. Noah Williams, 8 April, 2020

Hotel foot traffic in Wisconsin started declining in early March 2020 and plummeted as the COVID crisis worsened until flattening out late in the month. Grocery stores have seen strong activity overall with some spikes in demand. Noah Williams, 8 April, 2020

updated on 7 April, 2020

The effects of COVID-19 on Wisconsin’s workers and firms

Wisconsin initial unemployment claims, daily, Kim Ruhl, 7 April, 2020

Wisconsin initial unemployment claims, weekly, Kim Ruhl, 7 April, 2020

Estimated Wisconsin unemployment rate, daily, Kim Ruhl, 7 April, 2020

Market capitalization of Wisconsin public firms, Kim Ruhl, 7 April, 2020

27 March, 2020

Unemployment Benefits under the Federal COVID-19 Relief Package

Under the new federal law, unemployment benefits would exceed 115% of wages on average across states, and would be much higher in some states. Noah Williams, March 27, 2020

27 March, 2020

The Geographic Distribution of Workers Most At Risk Economically When Ordered To Stay At Home

10-30% of Workers Would be At Risk Economically When Ordered To Stay At Home, Junjie Guo, March 26, 2020

23 March, 2020

Forecasting Initial Unemployment Claims using Google Searches

Google searches predict that initial unemployment claims will skyrocket to 1.6 million (more than double the previous record high) this week, Noah Williams, March 23, 2020

23 March, 2020

COVID-19, Industry Mix and the Growth of Initial UI Claims across States

Initial UI claims increase more in states with more confirmed cases of COVID-19, Junjie Guo, March 23, 2020

CROWE in the Media

Coverage of CROWE Research
by BizTimes Milwaukee Business News

Coverage of CROWE Research
by Green Bay Press-Gazette

Thinking Past the Crisis

"Federal expansion of jobless benefits is necessary but may impede recovery" says CROWE's founding director Noah Williams, in his article "Thinking Past the Crisis" featured in the "COVID-19, Economy and Budgets" section of The City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) hosted a business coalition update call that featured a federal update from U. S. Rep. Bryan Stell (WI-1st). Additionally attendees heard from Marcus Corporation President & CEO Greg Marcus, University of Wisconsin Professor and Director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, Noah Williams, and Wisconsin Medical Society CEO Dr. Clyde “Bud” Chumley.

“Wisconsin unemployment rate could hit record high in the next week, economist says”. Watch Noah’s interview with @tmj4