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9 <br /> THE UNEVEN RECOVERY CONTINUES <br /> After the tremendous drop in the economy during the second quarter of 2020, the <br /> economy recovered strongly in the third quarter of that year(Figure 1). By the end of the first <br /> quarter of 2021 (latest data available), the value of aggregate national economic production <br /> (Gross Domestic Product, or GDP)had surpassed its pre-Covid-19 level. North Carolina's GDP <br /> likely reached its pre-pandemic level in the second quarter of 2021. <br /> Figure 1. Paths of US and North Carolina GDP. <br /> DOWNSOF • • <br /> (QUARTERLYD• AS PERCENT OF D• <br /> 102 <br /> 100 <br /> 96 <br /> 94 <br /> 92 <br /> ., <br /> 2019,IV 2020,1 2020,11 2020,111 2020,IV 2021,1 <br /> Source:US Bureau of Economic Analysis.Based on inflation-adjusted values. <br /> But all sectors of the economy did not fluctuate during the recession and recovery in the <br /> same way. Figure 2 shows GDP in the second quarter of 2020 (the depth of the recession) and <br /> the first quarter of 2021 as a percentage of GDP in the pre-pandemic 2019 fourth quarter for the <br /> major sectors of the economy in both the US and North Carolina. <br /> Looking at the nation first, the hardest hit sectors in 2020 II were <br /> transportation/warehousing (75% of 2019 IV), hospitality/leisure (47% of 2019 IV), and personal <br /> services (77% of 2019 IV). <br /> In North Carolina, the same three sectors also suffered significant declines, with <br /> transportation/warehousing at 79% of 2019 IV, hospitality/leisure at 60% of 2019 IV, and <br /> personal services at 79% of 2019 IV. But,unlike the nation, the North Carolina sector with the <br /> largest decline was farming,with GDP in 2020 II at only 58% of its pre-pandemic 2019 IV level. <br /> 3 <br />