March 25, 2020: The National Restaurant Association estimates that five to seven million restaurant workers will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic in just three months. In an industry that employed 15.6 million workers before the pandemic, that means roughly one out of three restaurant workers is
likely to lose their job.[1]
That estimate is consistent with comments from James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He believes the U.S. unemployment rate could hit 30% in the coming months.[2]
Bullard, however, thinks the economic contraction will be short-lived. After a transition quarter, he expects the economy will be “quite robust” and suggested we might enjoy an economic “boom.”[2]
As for the restaurant industry itself, revenue is expected to decline by $225 billion during the next three months.[1] An earlier Number of the Day noted that the airline industry was projected to lose between $63 billion and $113 billion as a result of the coronavirus.
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