Hospitality Workers Wonder If Their Jobs Will Come Back

• Author: Chris Remington
• Posted: 2023-12-07

Over the past year, one mom wondered if she might lose her home. In March 2020, she lost her job as a banquet cook at the Delta Hotel by Marriott, located in northeast Minneapolis, MN. Her bills piled up in a hurry. She used her unemployment benefits to pay her mortgage. She also signed up for payment plans in order to avoid getting her utilities shut off. She also went to food pantries in order to feed her kids. She was already $3,800 behind in property taxes, but she couldn't pay it. In some places, failure to pay property tax can result in a foreclosure and seizure of the property. The mom said that not knowing what might happen tomorrow is a terrible feeling.

Job Losses Have Decimated Certain Industries

No economic sector has been as hard-hit by the COVID-19 job losses as leisure in hospitality. The curtailing of in-person socializing, including prohibitions on wedding receptions, large funerals, banquets and other events with more than 10 people who don't live together basically upended the whole leisure and hospitality industry. Travel restrictions also played a role. People who lost jobs in other sectors didn't have the money to take a vacation or spend a night away from home.

Where the Leisure and Hospitality Numbers Currently Stand

In Minnesota, the leisure and hospitality industry currently has 120,000 fewer jobs than it did in February 2020. Around the United States, there are 4 million fewer jobs in leisure and hospitality than in February 2020. The unemployment rate for people in the leisure and hospitality industry was 15.9% in January. That is more than double the national unemployment rate as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What Government Officials Have to say

Steve Grove, who is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said that leisure and hospitality is the hardest-hit industry for job losses. For those who work in restaurants, it's been 12 months of ups and downs. Many people were laid off when restaurants shut down in March 2020. Some went back to work when restaurants added outdoor service or reopened with reduced capacities over the summer. When the COVID-19 cases surged in the late autumn of 2020, many states restricted indoor dining once again. Hotel workers haven't had any calls back to work at all.

What the Government Is Doing

Unemployment benefits were extended by Congress in December. President Biden has urged Congress to extend them again through the end of the summer. The current bill going through Congress includes an extra $400 weekly for people who are unemployed.

People Take One Step Forward and Two Steps Backward

When the cook got her $600 stimulus check in January, she used it to pay off her property taxes, wiping out that debt. The next week, her car broke down. It required $4,000 in repairs. The hotel she worked at is still closed. Last year, the management told employees they would return in March. So far, the employees have no updates. Some restaurants and other leisure and hospitality have permanently shuttered their doors, and more may do so if the economy doesn't speed up its recovery. More than 50% of bar and hotel operators said they'll be bankrupt in six months of the current conditions persist. Most states are allowing restaurants to increase hours and capacity. Some have allowed the capacity of other events to increase, too. Hotels are malingering at just 2% to 8% capacity in most cities.

Unemployment Benefits Aren't Enough

After the $600 weekly unemployment boost from the CARES Act expired last summer, people had to scramble. Some had to pay their rent late. Others had to switch which bill they paid. Many asked friends or family for help, borrowing money to pay bills until the next unemployment check would come. As the pandemic drags on and jobs in leisure and hospitality are slow to return, people continue to deal with life situations. One woman's wisdom tooth become infected, and the oral surgery bill was $500. When someone has lost their job and the health insurance tied to it, they are one medical bill, accident or tooth problem away from financial devastation. nearly all of the people who have lost their jobs in leisure and hospitality want to go back to doing what they did before the pandemic, but they don't have confidence that the job will reappear before their financial situations get dire.