Illinois, California and New York shrank the most and lost people fastest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas and Florida grew the most. Idaho, Utah and Montana grew the fastest.

The pandemic caused the largest and shortest economic contraction in U.S. history. But as other states recovered, Illinois’ economy remained $17 billion below the pre-pandemic trend through the first half of 2021.

Business sectors directly affected by the coronavirus and mitigation employ 1.5 million Illinoisans. The longer the shutdown, the more industries and jobs face cuts.

New data show Illinois lost private sector jobs amid a national economic expansion for the first year on record in 2019, a sign of the state’s deep structural problems in the run-up to the current market downturn.