The U.S. economy has lost at least 15% of jobs or more in every sector/industry. While many jobs are slowly picking back up, no industry has fully recovered yet. Most white-collar jobs (jobs that are professional, performed in an office or administrative setting) have transitioned to working from home, however blue-collar jobs (jobs that require manual labor; skilled or unskilled) have remained to be essential, so therefore they need to be on site. You can read more about the difference of white-collar jobs vs. blue-collar jobs here.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, below shows the percentage of jobs in each industry that were cut and the percentage of job cuts that recovered as of November 2020.
| Industry | % of jobs in the industry that were cut | % of job cuts that has recovered |
| Accommodation | 43.62 | 20.46 |
| Administrative and Waste Services | 17.49 | 41.01 |
| Air Transportation | 15.28 | -36.88 |
| Amusement, Gambling & Recreation | 58.06 | 51.05 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 53.77 | 40.13 |
| Clothing & Accessories Stores | 61.83 | 59.24 |
| Dentist Offices | 56.2 | 93.24 |
| Department Stores | 24.82 | 93.31 |
| Film & Sound Recording Industries | 51.7 | 18.61 |
| Financial Activities | 3.15 | 41.94 |
| Food & Drinking Places | 49.39 | 61.85 |
| Furniture & Home Furnishing Stores | 46.12 | 73.65 |
| Government | 4.26 | 2.79 |
| Healthcare | 9.56 | 57.68 |
| Hospitals | 2.31 | -3.62 |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 49.32 | 53.84 |
| Manufacturing | 10.61 | 52.53 |
| Museums & Historical Sites | 28.48 | 7.21 |
| Professional & Technical Services | 5.78 | 42.85 |
| Retail Trade | 15.21 | 79.74 |
| Scenic & Sightseeing Transportation | 65.94 | 38.02 |
| Social Assistance | 16.29 | 45.81 |
With more job cuts and layoffs, there will be less job postings and this will impact the way that employers reassess and reevaluate their plans as they move forward. With the new wave of Coronavirus hitting this winter, many sectors and industries will be facing job deficits due to low demand.
The rate of the quitting is not unusually low despite the high unemployment rate and the pandemic. The impact of this downturn is inconsistent because some folks have no job prospects, while other folks are constantly finding opportunities. According to CSISMag, a staggering 20.7 million jobs were lost in April, marking the steepest drop in employment on record. Employers have since restored over 9 million of these jobs, but the ongoing pandemic may undercut this partial rebound.
There are some folks who have received one or multiple offers and voluntarily changed jobs during the lock down, while there are other folks who are very skilled and has talent, as well remaining diligent throughout their job search — can’t even get a slice of that opportunity; particularly those who are recent graduates, those with disabilities, illnesses, ageism or other personal reasons like taking care of children or a family member. It has become extremely difficult for folks who have extensive experience and are heads of households who need living wages. So, the longer that they remain unemployed, the harder they will be seen as employable, due to the harsh reality that they are letting those skills atrophy.
Because of the job deficits that these companies are facing, some promote internally or bring on a new external hire due to the fears of budgets up in the air. There are also a handful that are simply willing to hire entry-level workers at low wages to hedge their stakes against a declining economy.
Aside from employee layoffs, there are also many individuals leaving their jobs due to big cuts in their hours — affecting their pay. They want to find a job that is equal or slightly close to what they were making before the pandemic, however it is not easy. This leaves the labor market with more job seekers than job openings. In order for one to keep their unemployment insurance, they have to constantly apply to many jobs per week — which makes it very strenuous for individuals needing a job to finding one quickly or even at all.
Careers with Michelle 