COVID 19 Industry Layoffs & Workforce Analytics

Data Analytics | Workforce Insights | Industry Trends

Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions across industries, leading to layoffs, reduced hours, and shifting workforce dynamics. This project analyzes industry-level workforce data to uncover trends, identify the hardest-hit sectors, and provide insights for decision-makers and workforce planning.

Business Problem

Organizations and policymakers needed to understand:

• Which industries experienced the most layoffs

• Geographic and sector-level impact

• Trends in rehiring and workforce recovery

• Early warning signals for future economic disruptions

Raw datasets were scattered, inconsistent, and difficult to interpret, making actionable insights challenging.

Project Objectives

1. Clean, consolidate, and structure workforce datasets from multiple sources

2. Explore industry and geographic layoffs trends using Python

3. Visualize patterns via Tableau dashboards for executive consumption

4. Identify industries most resilient to workforce shocks

5. Provide actionable insights for HR, business leaders, and policymakers

Tools & Technologies

• Python (Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, Seaborn) for data cleaning and analysis

• Tableau for interactive dashboards and visual storytelling

• Excel / CSV for raw datasets

Data Preparation

Steps included:

• Merging datasets from multiple sources

• Handling missing values and inconsistent labels

• Standardizing dates and industry categories

• Creating calculated fields (e.g., layoffs percentage, workforce recovery rates)

• Aggregating data at industry, state, and regional levels

Key Dashboard Features

1. Industry Layoffs Overview

• Total layoffs by sector

• Layoffs as a percentage of workforce

• Year-over-year comparisons

2. Geographic Analysis

• Layoffs by state/region

• Heatmaps highlighting impacted areas

• Interactive filters for sector, region, and time

3. Trend Analysis

• Monthly layoffs trends

• Workforce recovery patterns post-pandemic

• Comparison of pre- and post-COVID employment levels

4. Insights & Recommendations

• Highlighting sectors with high resilience

• Identifying industries requiring workforce support or intervention

Business Impact

This project allowed decision-makers to:

• Prioritize support for heavily impacted industries

• Plan workforce reintegration strategies

• Track recovery progress efficiently

• Inform policy and HR planning decisions

• Convert complex datasets into actionable, easy-to-read visuals

Deliverables

• Interactive Tableau dashboards

• Python scripts for data cleaning, aggregation, and visualization

• Executive summary of workforce trends and actionable insights

• Trend analysis reports and visual storytelling templates

Project Links

• View Tableau Dashboard 

• Read Full Article here

• View Analysis here (Kaggle)

Let’s Work Together

I help organizations convert workforce and operational data into actionable insights that support business continuity and strategic decisions.