Unemployment
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The US job market has recovered most of the jobs lost during this year’s economic crisis, but the lingering effects of the worst downturn since the Great Depression are still hitting low-income workers hard.

According to data analyzed by the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, formed by a team of researchers from Harvard and Brown universities, as of early November, the estimated level of unemployment remains 6.5% higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

While that marks a significant reversal from the low point of the economic crisis in late April, when unemployment was 24.2% higher than it had been in January, the recovery in the job market appears to have plateaued, with high levels of unemployment persisting at low-income levels.

Among high wage earners, employment levels have returned to their pre-crisis levels. The most recent official data, from September 30th, shows earners with incomes over $600,000 a year actually being employed at a 0.2% rate more than in January, though estimates of employment levels through early November place the employment rate as being identical to the pre-crisis level.

Middle-income earners – that is, workers earning between $27,000 to $600,000 per annum – have largely reentered the job market, though unemployment in that group remains 4.2% higher than it was in January.

But among workers in the bottom wage quartile – those earning under $27,000 a year – nearly a fifth (19.8%) of those employed at the beginning of the year remain jobless.

Low-wage earners were the hardest hit by the crisis, with the unemployment rate soaring by 38.1% at the peak of the downturn.

Small businesses in particular were devastated by the lockdowns and protracted restrictions on public activity, with nearly half (44%) being shuttered in mid-April.

As of mid-November, 28.9% of small businesses in the US remain closed.

Revenues for small businesses, which were more than cut in half at the peak of the crisis, remain nearly one-third (32.1%) below their pre-crisis levels.

Some industries have yet to experience any meaningful recovery.

Revenues in the leisure and hospitality industry is, as of mid-November, down 59.8% from January. That’s up only slightly from the nadir of roughly 70% in April.

Consumer spending on arts, entertainment, and recreation also remains low, at 56.4% below pre-crisis levels.

Americans are also spending less on health care, transportation, and dining, but more on groceries and retail purchases.