Most parts of Virginia's economy are suffering as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
But, it's not all doom and gloom.
Employment in leisure and hospitality in Virginia has declined 22% since the pandemic hit, and sectors of the economy like mining and manufacturing have also taken a hit. But some parts of Virginia's economy are actually growing, according to numbers from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Employment at essential retail trade like grocery stores and drug stores has increased 3% since February, and employment in construction has grown 2%.
Terry Clower at George Mason University says that's because of key policy decisions from the outset of the pandemic. "When we determined that construction was an essential activity, the shutdowns did not have an impact on those activities or much of an impact. That does not mean that we haven't seen some slowdown in construction activity simply because of disruptions in the supply chain for materials."
John Provo at Virginia Tech says many sectors of Virginia’s economy are expected to make a comeback in 2021, although it's unclear what that'll look like. "There's a lot of debates within different sectors about how work at home and remote work is going to be handled," according to Provo. "The question we don't really know an answer to is what's the return to the mean when we are able to do more in-person activity and how fast do we get there?"
The future of remote work won't just influence employment numbers in Virginia. Owners of commercial real estate are taking a hard look at their assets right now and trying to determine what the future of work will look like.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
