Industry Employment Trends: Winners and Losers Since 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the fastest labor market collapse in U.S. history — 22 million jobs lost in two months — followed by an unprecedented recovery. But the recovery has not been uniform across industries. BLS CES data shows which sectors have fully recovered and which remain structurally altered.

Sectors Above Pre-Pandemic Levels

Professional and business services, health care, construction, and transportation/warehousing have all surpassed their February 2020 employment peaks. The boom in e-commerce drove warehouse and distribution hiring. Construction benefited from low interest rates and the remote work-driven housing surge. Health care lagged early in the pandemic but recovered strongly as deferred care returned.

Sectors Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Information employment — publishing, broadcasting, and internet — actually peaked before the pandemic and has continued declining as media consolidation and AI-driven productivity gains reduce headcount. Office-intensive financial activities employment has been flat. Government employment, particularly at the state and local level, recovered more slowly due to budget constraints.

Track industry employment trends at our employment section.