Levin's Center for Economic Development Releases "Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ohio”

The Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs's Center for Economic Development has released a report, "Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ohio.” According to the abstract, the global COVID-19 pandemic has had sweeping impacts on society, some of the most dire being economic in nature. In some cases, stay-at-home orders and shutdowns resulted in job loss and shifted consumption patterns, with more spending online and at grocery stores taking the place of spending on entertainment, travel, and accommodations. In response to economic hardships caused by the pandemic, beginning in late March 2020 the United States federal government issued multiple rounds of financial assistance in the form of business loans, stimulus checks, grants, and contracts. The research brief assesses the net employment losses of more than 202,000 jobs over the first three quarters of 2020 in Ohio, as well as the positive effect on the economy resulting from over $34 billion in federal spending in the state over the entire year. (The authors note that due to a lack of fourth quarter employment data, the impacts of each cannot be compared directly). The Center for Economic Development has served as a designated Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Center since 1985.