The Back-to-Normal Index created by CNN Business and Moody’s Analytics dropped to its lowest level since early June. After remaining steadily in the low 90 percentile for months, America’s economy dropped back to 89 percent of its pre-Covid strength last week.
Not terrible, but also not the growth analysts had hoped to see by this time.
The Index is comprised of 37 national and seven state-level indicators. The index ranges from zero, representing no economic activity, to 100 percent, representing the economy returning to its pre-pandemic level in March 2020.
At it’s lowest level, the national index rate hit 57.6 percent on April 16, 2020. In June of this year, the index surpassed 93 percent.
On a state level, California currently sits at 87 percent—meaning the state economy is is operating at 87 percent of where it was in early March 2020. According to CNN, California ranks 44 out of 50 in the state back-to-normal ranking.
South Dakota and Idaho are the only states currently stronger than they were before the pandemic. New York is currently experiencing the slowest recovery with an 80.5 percent index rating.
What’s at the root of the slow down? According to researchers, the Delta Variant is to blame. Some of the components in the Back-to-Normal Index, such as passenger throughput at airports or restaurant reservations from Open Table, show this trend: People are canceling plans to avoid exposure to the virus.
For more on the Back-to-Normal Index, click here.