Study ranks Florida 23rd in State Economies Most Exposed to Coronavirus

by | Mar 31, 2020


A new report released on Tuesday by WalletHub ranked the Sunshine State 23rd in state economies most impacted by the COVID-19 virus. The report comes one day after the personal-finance website ranked Florida 13th in their annual Most & Least Stressed State list.

Coronavirus isn’t just a danger to Americans’ health. It’s also a menace to our wallets. With virus continuing to hurt lives as it spreads across the state, the outbreak has also led to the closing of scores of non-essential events and businesses, hurting the livelihood of many people.

With the U.S. stock market losing over 20 percent of its value and the U.S. government passing a historic $2 trillion stimulus package, today’s report on the State Economies Most Exposed to Coronavirus sheds light on which states are most affected by the pandemic, as well as the stay-in-orders that have led to a record number of 3.3 million Americans filing for unemployment.

To identify which states are most vulnerable economically, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 10 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of employment by small businesses to the share of a state’s GDP coming from highly affected industries and increases in unemployment insurance claims.

Here are some of the biggest categories that contributed to Florida’s ranking.

Economic Exposure to COVID-19 in Florida (1=Best, 25=Avg.):

  • 2nd – GDP Generated by High-Risk Industries as Share of Total State GDP
  • 1st – Share of Employment from Highly Impacted Industries
  • 29th – Increase in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims
  • 50th – Share of Employment from Small Businesses
  • 40th – Share of Workers Working from Home
  • 10th – Share of Workers with Access to Paid Sick Leave
  • 10th – State Rainy Day Funds as Share of State Expenditures
  • 49th – State Fiscal Condition Index

While the state performed well in certain categories like state fiscal condition and share of workers working from home, the virus hit other areas the contributed to Florida’s ranking.

According to the full report, Florida’s overall score was 46.25. States most exposed to the virus include Louisiana (68.12), Rhode Island (63.17), Nevada (60.71), Maine (57.58), and New Hampshire (55.98).

For the full report, click HERE.

0 Comments

%d bloggers like this: