President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be entering the White House with an economy that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Before the pandemic, the nation witnessed the longest economic expansion in the history of the country, starting in June 2009 until February 2020. It includes 10 years of job growth, no inflation and record levels of low unemployment.

However, once then the coronavirus pandemic hit, it put many Americans in the deepest holes since the Great Depression.

The economy bounced back over the summer as businesses started to reopen, but the growth has slowed.

Dr. James W. Hughes, an economist and professor at Rutgers University, says with a transition from a Republican to Democrat-led administration typically comes increased regulations and taxes.

He says no matter who is in office, it will be a steep climb back for the economy.

"It took us really about seven or eight years after the 2007 to the 2009 recession to get back to where we were pre-recession back in 2007, so it's gonna be a long slog to get back to where we were in February," Hughes says.

Hughes agrees with Biden that the pandemic must first be under control before Americans can see the full potential of the economy.

"I don't think nationally or in New Jersey or in any of its municipalities in early 2021 or even late 2021 we will see substantial differences from where we are today," he says.

A couple other trends he expects will continue is a shift away from brick-and-mortar shopping to online shopping, which will continue to hurt small businesses in New Jersey.

In addition, he believes there will be a resurgence back to low-rise office buildings and continued suburbanization following the pandemic.