Labour demand weakening during the COVID-19 pandemic in US cities
Stylised facts and factors related to regional resilience
This paper explores patterns of short-term labour demand weakening in Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSAs) of the United States and the associated regional factors.
The paper considers online job vacancy postings in February-June 2020. The data show
that in larger MSAs, online job postings contracted more and the recovery was slower
compared to smaller MSAs. Non-tradable service occupations, particularly those involving
face-to-face interactions, contracted the most. The regression analysis reveals that
different metropolitan characteristics were associated with the initial drop (February-April)
and the recovery (May-June) in online job posting. The associations of online job
postings with regional characteristics also differed between teleworkable (with high
feasibility of performing work duties remotely) and non-teleworkable jobs. Cities
with higher share of teleworkable employment had more online vacancy announcements
during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published on October 09, 2020
In series:OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papersview more titles