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The permanently temporary 2021 economy, in charts
Economy • Analysis
The permanently temporary 2021 economy, in charts
Huge forces are pulling the economy in different directions, and uncertainty obscures the path forward
By Alyssa Fowers, Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam
Yesterday at 9:56 a.m. EDT
Twenty-one months after the country’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the U.S. economy remains rocked by conflicting forces, with businesses and households struggling to adjust to what many hoped would be a temporary disruption.
Uncertainty obscures the path forward. Backlogged supply chains have left ships — and the imports they carry — stuck outside key U.S. ports. Inflation has driven up the cost of everyday items and prices aren’t easing. Restaurant reservations have seesawed for months, bobbing up and down as Americans consider whether they feel safe amid the ongoing pandemic.
Meanwhile, the labor market has whipsawed millions of Americans through layoffs and then rehirings, with millions caught in between. Wages are up, and people are switching jobs at a record rate. And while growth for the year is still projected to approach 6 percent, White House and Federal Reserve officials underestimated the economic disruption that would persist through the pandemic’s second year. Now it appears certain that many of these strains, both economic and viral, will continue well into 2022, and perhaps beyond.
[The real reason inflation is becoming so worrisome: It’s getting in our heads]
“There’s just no road map to opening a global economy in a pandemic, and people keep forgetting we’re still in a pandemic,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. Now the recovery not only has to fix what was lost, but also the “scars and wounds have to heal” after hard-hit workers and industries reevaluated their futures, Swonk said.
{snip}
By Alyssa Fowers
Alyssa Fowers is a graphics reporter for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/alyssafowers
By Rachel Siegel
Rachel Siegel is an economics reporter covering the Federal Reserve. She previously covered breaking news for the Post's financial section and local politics for the Post's Metro desk. Before joining the Post in June 2017, Rachel contributed to The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News. Twitter https://twitter.com/rachsieg
By Andrew Van Dam
Andrew Van Dam covers data and economics. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Idaho Press-Tribune. Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewvandam
The permanently temporary 2021 economy, in charts
Huge forces are pulling the economy in different directions, and uncertainty obscures the path forward
By Alyssa Fowers, Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam
Yesterday at 9:56 a.m. EDT
Twenty-one months after the country’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the U.S. economy remains rocked by conflicting forces, with businesses and households struggling to adjust to what many hoped would be a temporary disruption.
Uncertainty obscures the path forward. Backlogged supply chains have left ships — and the imports they carry — stuck outside key U.S. ports. Inflation has driven up the cost of everyday items and prices aren’t easing. Restaurant reservations have seesawed for months, bobbing up and down as Americans consider whether they feel safe amid the ongoing pandemic.
Meanwhile, the labor market has whipsawed millions of Americans through layoffs and then rehirings, with millions caught in between. Wages are up, and people are switching jobs at a record rate. And while growth for the year is still projected to approach 6 percent, White House and Federal Reserve officials underestimated the economic disruption that would persist through the pandemic’s second year. Now it appears certain that many of these strains, both economic and viral, will continue well into 2022, and perhaps beyond.
[The real reason inflation is becoming so worrisome: It’s getting in our heads]
“There’s just no road map to opening a global economy in a pandemic, and people keep forgetting we’re still in a pandemic,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. Now the recovery not only has to fix what was lost, but also the “scars and wounds have to heal” after hard-hit workers and industries reevaluated their futures, Swonk said.
{snip}
By Alyssa Fowers
Alyssa Fowers is a graphics reporter for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/alyssafowers
By Rachel Siegel
Rachel Siegel is an economics reporter covering the Federal Reserve. She previously covered breaking news for the Post's financial section and local politics for the Post's Metro desk. Before joining the Post in June 2017, Rachel contributed to The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News. Twitter https://twitter.com/rachsieg
By Andrew Van Dam
Andrew Van Dam covers data and economics. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Idaho Press-Tribune. Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewvandam
