More than 30 million adults lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each week, more than 1 million people are filing new jobless claims. However, some industries are enjoying a faster recovery than others. Read on to learn about which jobs are coming back the fastest and what economic analysts think about the situation.

How Bad the Job Losses Were

Before you can think about the recovery, you need to know how bad things were at the peak job loss time. Around 17.5% of Americans lost their jobs during the worst economic part of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of August, the unemployment rate is 10.2%. Some people have involuntarily become part-time workers, and they're not counted in those numbers. The job losses were the worst in tourism, hospitality, restaurants, retail, construction and public service.

Leisure and Hospitality

The leisure and hospitality sector of the economy has had the biggest recovery of jobs so far. This economic sector added 592,000 jobs in July. As states reopened, places of leisure, hotels and motels were also able to reopen their doors.

Government

Government is another sector of the economy that has added jobs. Many local and state health departments have hired large contingents of contact tracers in order to determine who COVID-19 cases have been in contact with in the week before their symptoms began. Government also hired temporary workers in state unemployment offices and social services benefits departments. Overall, government added 301,000 jobs in July.

Retail

Many retail establishments had to close their bricks-and-mortar locations. Even online retailers had to furlough some workers because they had to maintain social distancing in their warehouse and logistics operations. In July, the retail sector of the economy added 258,300 jobs.

Healthcare and Social Assistance

During the peak of COVID-19 shutdowns this spring, elective medical care was curtailed. Many doctor's offices closed and only allowed patients to schedule telehealth services. By late June, most healthcare facilities reopened for full services. In July, the healthcare and social assistance industries added 191,000 jobs.

Professional and Business Services

Many professional and business services also stopped during the pandemic shutdowns. This included printing, publishing and delivery services. In July, this economic sector added 170,000 jobs.

Other Industries That Added Jobs

Several other industries saw job growth in July. While these additions don't fully cover the losses incurred earlier this year, they are a small step in the right direction. Transportation and warehousing added 37,900 jobs. Manufacturing jobs increased by 26,000. Financial activities and construction each went up by about 20,000 jobs. Utilities industries added 300 jobs.

Industries That Lost Jobs in July

The most recent jobs report wasn't all good news. Several major industries lost more jobs. The wholesale trade lost 5,300 jobs. The number of mining and logging jobs decreased by 7,000. Information jobs decreased by an astounding 15,000. This surprised many economists because of the increased number of people who are relying on remote technology in order to do their jobs and because many schools will be doing remote or hybrid learning.

The USA Doesn't Have the Best Recovery

The United States economy is purported to be the world's biggest, steadiest and most reliable. However, it's not having the best recovery. Canada has regained 55% of the jobs lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's also worth noting that Canada has provided its residents with much more stimulus funds in order to help people pay their bills while out of work. Canada doesn't have a looming eviction crisis. The rate of COVID-19 cases in Canada as of August 7 was 3,144 per 1 million residents, while the United States' rate of COVID-19 is 15,262 per 1 million residents. Canada's better control over the COVID-19 pandemic may be why their recovery is going better, too.

Investors Aren't Confident

Even though the United States' economy is in the process of recovery, it's going to be a long haul. The recovery isn't happening as quickly as investors and economists had hoped. At the same time, many health experts expect that COVID-19 cases will increase during the upcoming autumn and winter months. If it also happens to be a bad year for influenza, states may have to shut down again. The uncertainties around the COVID-19 pandemic are fueling nervousness about jobs and the economy as a whole.