Economy

Thanks to the pandemic, unemployment in the Quad Cities has reached the highest April level in nearly 40 years. Our jobless rate hit 15.2 per cent last month - reaching a level last seen here during the farm crisis in the early 1980's (1983).

The pandemic has taken a bite out of sales and profits for John Deere. Friday it reported sales in the second quarter dropped 18 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, and net income fell 41 per cent. 

Traffic at the Quad City International Airport dropped sharply in April, the first full month of shutdowns caused by the pandemic. The total number of passengers fell 95 per cent - from nearly 30,000 in April of last year, to just 1,600 last month.

Even though it can't hold its usual ribbon cutting ceremonies because of social distancing, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce still wants to celebrate when its members re-open and other milestones. So it's asking them to organize their own ceremonies, and post photos and short videos online.

One of the two major shopping malls in the Quad Cities has re-opened, while the other has not. Tuesday  Macerich, the owner of NorthPark in Davenport and SouthPark in Moline, announced that NorthPark is one of 20 properties in eight states that are "fully open" with enhanced sanitation practices and rules for social distancing. 

Pork processing fell nearly 40 percent following temporary closures at meatpacking plants across the Midwest last month. That's created a backlog of market-ready hogs, though the scope of the problem isn't as dramatic as some had feared.

Davenport's municipal pools will not open this summer. Monday the city announced that "out of an abundance of caution," Dohse, Fejervery, and Annie Wittenmeyer pools and aquatic centers will be closed. 

Even though travel has suffered during the pandemic, hotels and motels in the Quad Cities have not been empty.