Pandemic may cause some permanent job loss

Fiscal analysts projected Jan. 21 that Pennsylvania’s economic damage from the pandemic will last years, and some jobs may never return.

The Independent Fiscal Office released its five-year outlook that concluded lost economic growth in 2020 will lead to a $2 billion structural deficit – doubling the gap measured before the pandemic hit.

“The pandemic has brought really significant and abrupt economic changes,” said IFO Director Matthew Knittel during a presentation of the results on Thursday. “We think some of these changes will be permanent.”

The IFO estimates that real GDP shrank 4.1 percen...