Early in 2020, the impact of the pandemic put the U.S. economy in an almost overnight recession. Businesses closed and employees were laid off. There was some recovery as cases leveled off, but as most of the country is again seeing dramatic numbers of COVID-19 cases, uncertainty is once again affecting economic projections for 2021.

One positive is the expectation that at least one vaccine could be available for broad distribution in next year’s first quarter.

Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business hosted its annual Economic Forecast Luncheon on Dec. 1. Before the event, The Show spoke with one of the presenters — economist Bart Hobijn — about how challenging it is to look ahead when we remain in the eye of the pandemic’s storm.

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