As of early Wednesday morning, there have been 7,636 cases of coronavirus infection in the United States, an increase of 61% since Tuesday. Some 1,225 new cases were reported this morning. More than 97% of the reported cases are still active while 106 patients have recovered and 117 Americans have died from the infection.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Wednesday morning that more than 9 million Americans employed in the leisure and hospitality industry (hotels, bars, restaurants and the like.) are at risk of losing their jobs, either temporarily or worse, as the United States tries to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Challenger also noted that 3,624 jobs already have been cut due to the coronavirus outbreak. Of those, 3,401 have come in the leisure and hospitality industry, 145 in the transportation industry, 70 in the energy industry and 18 in the consumer products industry. Andrew Challenger, senior vice-president of the firm, commented, “We are certainly beginning to see the cracks in the foundation. Slowing demand, brought on by the need for Americans to practice social distancing, is going to very likely immediately hurt those who work in at the nation’s hotels, restaurants, and bars.”

Also on Wednesday morning, consumer research firm Morning Consult reported that its consumer sentiment index slid from 103.19 on March 17 to 100.96 on March 18. Based on its daily surveys, this marks an overall year-to-date decline of 12.28% since January 1. Since February 23, the index has dropped by more than 13.8 points. For the third consecutive day, the consumer sentiment index has fallen to its lowest level since the firm began tracking more than two years ago.

The Morning Consult consumer sentiment index has fallen the most among workers employed in three of the country’s largest sectors. Among financial sector workers, consumer confidence has dropped by more than 14% since March 1. Consumer confidence among Americans working in real estate has fallen by more than 12% and, among health care workers, confidence is down nearly 12%.

The drop in confidence among financial and health care sector workers “likely reflects their knowledge and awareness” of just how serious the coronavirus pandemic is and will be. This could be due to the relatively higher wealth of people who work in these fields, Morning Consult’s John Leer suggests.

Consumer confidence has fallen least among tech sector workers, where the drop since March 1 has been about 5.6%. The news may not have sunk in yet among leisure and hospitality workers, among whom confidence has dropped by just over 10%.

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