By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
Phoenix had the smallest decrease in consumer spending in March among 16 of the largest U.S. metro areas when COVID-19 shutdown much of the economy.
That is according to new research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute (a research arm of the bank).
Phoenix saw a 2.8 percent drop in consumer spending in March. That compares to San Francisco which saw a 16.6 percent decline (the largest of drop of the cities examined).
Chicago had a 15.3 percent drop in consumer spending, New York a 15.1 percent drop and Detroit a 13.5 percent decline in consumer spending in March, according to the research arm of Chase Bank.
The cities with the largest declines had a large number of COVID-19 cases such as New York as well as more aggressive closure orders such as San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit.
Denver, Portland and Dallas also saw comparatively smaller drops in consumer spending during the March COVID shutdowns, according to the new report.
The research also showed that lower income households cut their spending the most during March. More than 40 million jobs have been lost during the Coronavirus pandemic many of them in lower wage industries such as hotels, restaurants, and retail.
The full report can be seen here:
