Economy

14.4 Million Jobs at Risk in the Leisure and Hospitality Industry

Paul Ausick

Published: March 20, 2020 7:49 am

As of early Friday morning, there have been 14,366 reported cases of coronavirus infection in the United States, nearly double the 7,636 cases reported as of Wednesday. There were 577 new cases reported this morning. More than 97% of the reported cases are still active, while 125 patients have recovered and 217 Americans have died from the infection.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Friday morning that more than 14.4 million Americans employed in the leisure and hospitality industry (hotels, bars, restaurants, and so on) are at risk of losing their jobs, either temporarily or permanently, as the United States tries to stop the spread of COVID-19.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 16.87 million workers in the nation’s leisure and hospitality industry at the end of February. With more than 14 million jobs already at risk as more states and municipalities order residents to stay home, it won’t take long for the entire industry to be at risk.

Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at the firm, commented, “Job cuts will continue due to this outbreak as companies prepare to put business on hold for at least a month. More hotels, restaurants, and bars will undoubtedly make major cuts in the coming weeks.”

So far, however, a bare handful of job cuts have been announced. Challenger reported that 9,088 jobs have already been cut due to the coronavirus outbreak. Of those, 8,705 have come in the leisure and hospitality industry, 150 in the services industry, 145 in the transportation industry, 70 in the energy industry and 18 in the consumer products industry.

Next week’s report on new claims for unemployment benefits could see a history-making 2.25 million new claims, according to Goldman Sachs.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all the state’s 40 million residents to stay home except for essential activities. The impact on the state’s businesses is likely to be severe.

Consumer research firm Morning Consult reported Thursday that its consumer sentiment index slid from 100.96 on March 18 to 98.72 on March 19. This is the index’s first drop below 100 in the two years that the firm has been tracking consumer sentiment.