Flores-Lagunes comments on Northeast labor gains in Business Insider

July 11, 2021

Business Insider

Alfonso Flores-Lagunes

Economics Department

Aging Studies Institute

Center for Policy Research

COVID-19

Health Policy

Labor

United States

Business Insider

Alfonso Flores-Lagunes

As more people get their COVID-19 shots, economies in the Northeast, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in the country, are reopening, prompting both customers to flock to restaurants and other businesses and workers to return to jobs. Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics, says that "people are feeling more comfortable going to restaurants, traveling, and right now in the Northeast, it's a good time to travel because it's not as cold." He was quoted in the Business Insider article, "Hospitality workers are returning to their jobs in Northeast states, prompting big unemployment drops - and economists say the region's high vaccine rate is driving it."