Gig work will expand while some manufacturing jobs will be permanently lost after pandemic, report finds

When COVID-19 hit the U.S. in March 2020, millions of people found themselves suddenly out of work when everything shut down.

Almost a year later, a new report finds that a lot of those jobs aren’t coming back, even after the pandemic ends. The report, from the consulting giant McKinsey and Company, looks at how the disease will reshape the workforce.

Some people will continue working from home. That means less business travel, fewer hotel stays, and maybe going out to eat less. That translates to lost jobs in the hospitality industry. Other jobs will be lost to automation and e-commerce — pre-COVID trends that only accelerated in the last year.