Economic Impact of 9/11
Introduction
On Tuesday September 11th, 2001 tragedy struck the country when four commercial airline jets were hijacked by an Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Two of the airliners crashed into the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, causing them to collapse and spreading panic throughout the country. The towers housed over 500 different companies, many of which were the nation's leading financial companies. The complex was so extensive, it had it's own zip code and on any particular weekday more than 50,000 people worked within the towers. As a result of the attacks on 9/11, approximately 3,000 lives were lost and many more were forever changed.
The terrorist attacks on September 11th, shook the US economy as well. However, most of the economic disruptions were felt only in the short term. Immediately after the attacks panic spread through the economy. Stock market trading was halted and all planes were grounded. Close to 200,000 jobs were lost in New York City alone. The cost of destruction and cleanup with regards to private businesses, state and local government enterprises, and rescue efforts was estimated at 27.2 billion dollars. People feared the worst.
In the long run, however economic effects were minimal. Essentially the attacks of September 11th created a slight blip in the nation's economy.
