- The restaurant and bar industry has shed over 2.4 million jobs since the coronavirus pandemic started.
- December job losses represent a dramatic increase from the 17,000 jobs lost by the restaurant and bar industry in November.
- Workers at
restaurants andbars made up 74% of theunemployment numbers for December.
Over 372,000 restaurant and bar workers lost their jobs during the holiday season, $4 to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The industry has shed over 2.4 million jobs since the coronavirus pandemic started last year. Leisure and hospitality unemployment is 157% higher than the national average, as restaurants, bars and other venues were forced to temporarily close or limit service, according to a $4 from the Independent Restaurant Coalition.
During the winter holidays -- a season typically known for leisure activities and increased spending -- December job losses represented a dramatic increase from the 17,000 jobs lost in the restaurant and bar industry the previous month. In December, restaurant and bar workers made up 74% of job losses and were the leading industry for pandemic unemployment for the 11th straight month.
The loss of restaurant jobs in December $4saw a surprise decline in payrolls. American businesses shed 140,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, the $4. Analysts had expected a gain of 50,000. The country's unemployment rate stayed steady at 6.7% in December.
Read more: $4
Lockdowns and increased restrictions since the pandemic started have $4 many restaurants to shut down, with roughly 17% of US restaurant's closing their doors. Some companies have found $4 ways to get around state orders banning in-door dining by setting up tents and temporary structures, but restaurant and bar capacities have yet to meet pre-pandemic levels.
Workers could find some relief as the Small Business Administration and the United States Treasury Department announced plans Friday to $4 the Paycheck Protection Program on January 11 -- five months after its first two rounds of funding ended. The program is designed to help employers retain staff without pay or staff cuts.
Read more: $4
In July, the Federal Reserve and MIT researchers said in a $4 that loans made through the Paycheck Protection Program$4 between 1.4 million and 3.2 million jobs during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. However, many small businesses in the hospitality industry $4 the program for providing large scale funding to companies like Ruth Chris, while smaller businesses struggled to obtain the loan.
In response to skyrocketing unemployment numbers, the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a group representing over 11 million restaurant employees, called for the government to release a Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed To Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act which would provide $120 billion in relief through a grant program administered by the Treasury Department.
"New changes to the Paycheck Protection Program will be too little, too late for hundreds of thousands of people left without a paycheck this holiday season," said the Independent Restaurant Coalition in a press release. "...A direct relief plan like the RESTAURANTS Act is vital to ensure there are places to work when restaurants can fully reopen and rehire their teams."
Read more: $4
Over 34,000 members of the independent restaurant and bar community $4 to Congress in December urging them to take action on the RESTAURANTS Act.
Several government officials have voiced their support for the act, including Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President-elect Joe Biden. During an $4 on the impact of COVID-19 in December, Biden said regarding restaurant support, "It should not be a loan, it should be a guarantee."