Notations From the Grid (Special Mid-Week Edition): Out & About in America ((Courtesy USAFACTS))

 

State by state: Vaccinations  A growing number of Americans are receiving their first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The tracker at USAFacts has been updated to feature daily data on vaccines distributed, plus how many people have received shots in your state.

More than 49.9 million vaccine doses have been distributed nationwide as of January 31. That’s enough to give a single dose to 15.2% of the population. At least 25.2 million people have received one or more doses of vaccine, and 5.6 million of those people have received both doses.    Also as of January 31, 13% of Alaska’s population was vaccinated, the highest percentage of any state. West Virginia has vaccinated 10.7% of its population, while Connecticut and New Mexico have each vaccinated 9.8% of their residents.

With 51 different plans (and then some, given US territories not yet reflected in the tracker), keeping the eligibility requirements straight can be difficult. Use the tracker for a breakdown of who is currently eligible for a vaccine in your state and when others can get in line, with designations for age, line of work, and more.

State by state: Unemployment December data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that while unemployment fell in 19 states, it increased in 12 states plus Washington, DC, keeping the national jobless rate at 6.7% from November to December. Hospitality and leisure businesses like hotels, restaurants, and bars continue to lose the most jobs.

Michigan lost 64,400 jobs in December, the most of any state. California and Minnesota also reported large losses.    Texas reported a high of 64,200 jobs added back to payrolls. Hawaii and North Carolina each added 44,700 and 33,600 positions, but as a percentage of its November employment, Hawaii had the greatest job gains. Still, at 9.3%, Hawaii had the highest unemployment rate of any state.    By the end of December, 48 states and Washington, DC had lost leisure and hospitality jobs compared to the year prior. California, the most populous state in the union, lost the most leisure jobs since 2019: 610,900. For more on recent unemployment numbers, read this report.

State by state: Tax revenue States are also not collecting as much in taxes during the pandemic. During the first three quarters of 2020 combined, total state tax revenue was down compared to 2019. This can affect transportation, parks, plus salaries for teachers, firefighters, and police, and more.

Total state tax revenue was down by $37.5 billion, or 4.4%, in the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same period the year before.   Many states shifted income tax filing deadlines from the second to the third quarter to provide some economic relief in the pandemic’s first months. But as those taxes came due, they weren’t enough to make up for all the losses earlier in the year.   Gas tax receipts declined 6.3% nationwide in the first three quarters of 2020 relative to 2019. Three states reported gas tax revenue declines of more than 20%: Washington (-29.8%), Michigan (-24.9%), and Louisiana (-20.8%). See the report for more, including a comparison of state tax revenues from the past two years.