Five charts that show how Covid-19 stopped the U.S. economy in its tracks

CNBC March 11, 2021
Alex Sherman

Key Points

– The coronavirus pandemic swiftly shut down the U.S. economy one year ago.

– The auto industry “faced the greatest demand shock experienced in modern times.”

– March 8 was a normal weekend for U.S. movie theaters. Two weeks later, the industry effectively shut down.

The first thing to go was transportation.

As the United States began to shut down last March to stop the spread of Covid-19, before Zoom calls or restaurant shutdowns or endless Netflix binges, people simply stopped going anywhere.

In the months to come, unemployment would rise from 4.4% in March to 14.7% in April. It wouldn’t fall back below 10% until August. First-quarter U.S. gross domestic product would decline 4.8% — at the...

Today's Sponsors

Today's Sponsor