This Data Digest will be the last in a series of “sneak peeks” of our soon-to-be-released 2022 Greater Palm Springs Economic Report. Once again, we encourage you to attend our annual Economic Summit on October 31, the preeminent business event in the Coachella Valley. Our Summit economist, Dr. Manfred Keil, will discuss the impacts of COVID on our local industries and where we are now two years after the initial shutdowns.
Here is a figure from the employment section of the Summit report. It shows which sectors have recovered from the record-breaking drop in employment during the first months of the COVID epidemic. Employment can be visualized as peaks (high points) and troughs (low points). The green bars represent sectors that have actually gained employment since the shutdowns. The red bars show the percentage drop of the employment loss trough during this period. And the orange bars display the industry sectors that have yet to gain back employment to levels before the pandemic. Unfortunately, Retail Trade and Leisure & Hospitality, which represent 40% of employment in the valley, have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
