-May 4,2020-
Index posted on metro areas
Visalia’s economy is ranked in the top 20 nationwide for most resilient in the COVID-19 Economic Vulnerability Index report. The report jibes with news that most operations in the Visalia industrial Park are open and busy during the crisis -reported earlier here.
The coronavirus outbreak is disrupting the U.S. economy and some regions are impacted more than others. The variation in impact will not only be due to a region’s exposure to the virus and the local government’s policies in reaction to the virus, but is also related to the mix of jobs in the local economy.
Now a COVID-19 Economic Vulnerability Index has been published gauging the negative impact the COVID-19 crisis is likely to have on jobs in a region based upon the industries present in the area and their expected job losses. The projection model was developed by the Chmura economics.
Accommodation and food services, for example, are projected to lose more jobs as a result of the coronavirus compared to utilities and healthcare.
An average Vulnerability Index score is 100, which represents the average job loss expected in the United States. Higher scores indicate the degree to which job losses may be greater—an index of 200, for example, means the rate of job loss can be twice as large as the national average. Conversely, an index of 50 would mean a possible job loss of half the national average.
Here are the cities with highest vulnerability, The metropolitan areas with the largest Vulnerability Index scores are Kahului, Atlantic City, and Las Vegas. This is not surprising given these regions’ heavy reliance on tourism-related industries. Here are the top 5 and the numbers.
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI
194.9
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
193.4
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
178.9
Flagstaff, AZ
163.9
Ocean City, NJ
161.7
Here are the cities with low vulnerability that include our own Visalia coming in number 20 of the lowest – at 86 on the index – close to San Jose’s Silicon Valley number! Our job base is heavy into food processing, logistics ,warehousing and distribution that have been less impacted by the lockdown the some other places.
Metro areas with less exposure have a mix of employers expected to sustain fewer job losses due to the coronavirus. Some have more government jobs (such as Trenton, NJ and Jefferson City, MO) while others have heavier-than-average employment concentrations in industries such as information technology, education, healthcare, utilities, and food production.
Here area few more that includes nearby Merced.The least impact metro area is Trenton-Princeton, NJ at
70.1 on the index.
Visalia, CA
86.0
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
85.9
Greeley, CO
85.5
Albany-Lebanon, OR
85.5
Dalton, GA
85.2
Merced, CA
84.9
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
84.7