Faces of the new jobs crisis, from restaurants to real estate
| Waltham, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; Plainwell, Michigan; and Chicago
With terrible timing 鈥� like buying stocks in 1929 鈥� Cam Jennings started his company, ACTIVATE.vegas, on March 2. The start-up鈥檚 mission is printing and distributing handbills for businesses on the Las Vegas Strip. Two weeks later, Nevada鈥檚 governor ordered all the casinos to close, and Mr. Jennings had no choice but to suspend operations.聽
鈥淲e kind of hit the ground running on the Strip, but there was no Strip to get running on,鈥� he says, ruefully.
For Alyson Arnold of Warwick, Rhode Island, the problem was postponements. A ceremony officiant, specializing in outdoor weddings, she was preparing to conduct 60 weddings in 2020, her best year ever. But in early March, as concerns grew about travel, the postponements began rolling in: two in March, three in April. Of the five ceremonies scheduled in May, two are already being rescheduled.聽
Why We Wrote This
Every economic downturn has a different face. These are the people confronting the biggest challenges after the initial wave of shutdowns.
One of the worst things? The uncertainty. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for what will happen,鈥� she says.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
Three weeks ago, these workers had jobs. Suddenly they don鈥檛. The threat of the coronavirus hit the economy like a tempest out of nowhere. And just as storms typically wreak more havoc on trailer parks than ritzy suburbs, this one appears to have hit the most vulnerable workers first. But there鈥檚 more: Because 鈥渟ocial distancing鈥� is the essence of the virus response, jobs rooted in social contacts face some of the biggest disruptions.
Those, like Mr. Jennings, in the experiential marketing industry, staffing booths at conventions or handing out branded memorabilia at sporting events, quickly lost gigs when the first restrictions on huge crowds were put in place. Self-employed people reliant on private gatherings, like Ms. Arnold, were next.
Now, the forced closure of nonessential businesses in many parts of the United States has pushed huge numbers of full-time employees 鈥� often in low-paid service industries 鈥� onto the unemployment rolls.
Dennis Roberson, a divorced father of four, can chuckle about his last paycheck from the Wormhole 鈥� a bar and music venue in Savannah, Georgia, that like other nonessential businesses in town was forced to close. The check got torn in half by accident. When he went to cash it Monday, it got a little surreal.
There was a long queue outside the bank. That was a new one. It was 鈥渙ne in, one out,鈥� he says. Still, the check cleared. Its amount: $195. 鈥淚 realized that鈥檚 all I have for the foreseeable future,鈥� he says. 鈥淧retty wild.鈥澛�
Now, he has arrived at Forsyth Park, sporting a knit cap, sunglasses, and a white beard, after biking to Domino鈥檚 to pick up a free pizza from a promotion. He sits down under a tree to eat, puts his ear buds in, and closes his eyes.
It鈥檚 not yet clear how many Americans have been laid off. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a record 3.3 million workers filed a first-time claim for unemployment 鈥� more than four times the previous record set in 1982. This week's Thursday report set another new record, 6.6 million more for a two-week total near 10 million.
On Wednesday, payroll firm ADP鈥檚 research institute released a report showing that as early as mid-March, sectors such as retail and wholesale trade, transportation, construction, and administrative support services (including temp work) were starting to shed thousands of workers.
Biggest effects among low-paying jobs聽
鈥淢uch bigger job losses are coming,鈥� warns Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody鈥檚 Analytics. Some 56% of U.S. counties, representing 80% of the nation鈥檚 GDP, are in some form of lockdown, he says, although many employees continue to work from home. In all, about a quarter of the economy is shut down, he estimates, so he expects the unemployment rate to hit 10% to 13% this month.聽
That would be as bad or worse than at the height of the Great Recession. Some economists expect even higher levels of unemployment. The data also suggest that workers in some of the lowest-paid occupations were among the first to be laid off. 鈥淟ow and low-middle income households are being hit hardest by the crisis,鈥� Mr. Zandi says.聽聽
In Massachusetts, one of the top five states reporting first-time jobless claims last week, the biggest surge came in the health-care and social assistance sector. These workers run the gamut. Nearly half of them are home health aides, delivering care to the home-bound and earning nationally an average $24,000 a year. The rest are licensed nurses (earning twice as much) and medical and health services managers聽 (earning four times as much). Last week, more than 18,000 of them filed for unemployment in Massachusetts, up from 440 the week before, a mind-bending 4,000% increase.
鈥淥ver 37 million U.S. jobs may be vulnerable to potential layoffs in the short term,鈥� conclude researchers at Cornell University鈥檚 law school. That鈥檚 assuming that the current crisis does not result in wider-spread, long-term layoffs. Of those 37 million nonsupervisory jobs, all but 2 million are low-quality, low-paid ones paying less than $28,000 a year, as measured by the researchers鈥� U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index. The biggest group, more than a quarter of those at risk: workers in restaurants and other food-service positions.
Concerns beyond finances
In the Lake Michigan shoreline community of South Haven, Michigan, Dolly Harris has been a server at downtown鈥檚 Phoenix Street Caf茅 for 19 years. She and her co-workers were laid off March 16, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on restaurants and bars to close except for takeout or deliveries. Now Ms. Harris will be relying on Social Security and unemployment benefits to help make ends meet. She was able to complete the online process of applying for unemployment after a few frustrating hours of system freeze-ups. As of March 29, she still did not know how much she will be receiving, but expects to learn this week.
Finances aren鈥檛 the main concern for Ms. Harris. The virus is top of mind, particularly because her husband has been diagnosed with a pulmonary disease that makes breathing difficult. 鈥淚鈥檓 afraid to go out and do something in public,鈥� Ms. Harris says. 鈥淚 thought about working a job at Meijer [a regional supermarket], but I really don鈥檛 want to bring anything home like the virus.鈥�
The distinguishing feature of the current downturn is its speed. 鈥淚t was like bing, bang, boom! Next day, no restaurants!鈥� says Joe Ryal, a bartender at a restaurant on Chicago鈥檚 North Side. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all unprepared.鈥�
Retail workers face similar shocks. This week, a slew of chains announced extended closures and furloughs, including Macy鈥檚 (a majority of its 125,000 employees) and JCPenney (many of its 85,000 workers).
And the sudden brake-pedal on economic activity isn鈥檛 affecting low-paid occupations alone.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 100% commission based. When they issue a stay-at-home order, they made us part of that,鈥� says Eric, a commercial realtor in the southwest part of Michigan who declined to have his last name published. Because of the long lag time between showing a property and closing a sale, 鈥渢he impact if you鈥檙e not working can be severe. ... When you have three months where you can鈥檛 show any properties, that鈥檚 more like eight or nine months where you鈥檙e not making money.鈥�
How long the virus threat and its economic repercussions will last is a burning question for many of the newly unemployed.
鈥淭o be honest, it鈥檚 been pretty scary,鈥� says Ashley D., a bartender at a major national restaurant chain outlet in Oakland County, Michigan. 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful life will be back to normal in a few months, but even if this did all quickly resolve or improve, I鈥檓 afraid it would take a lot of time for people to feel comfortable coming back, both employees and guests. I know I鈥檓 leery about coming back right away.鈥�
鈥淲e are confident, we are thinking hopefully, that business will come back,鈥� says Jes煤s Morales, who worked conventions, banquets, and private meetings for 33 years at the Drake, one of Chicago鈥檚 fanciest hotels, serving the wealthy and occasionally the famous, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Princess Diana. (Noticing his name tag, she told him she was delighted to be served by a man named Jesus, he recalls.)
When tips were generous, he could bring home more than $1,000 a week. Now, as he relies on unemployment payments to cover his bills, he worries about when the hotel business and other activity will recover.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it will come back as strong as before. I think it鈥檚 going to take a while,鈥� he says.
According to Mr. Zandi, the economist, it will take three to four years to get back to something resembling full employment.聽
Some help is on the way to ease the adjustment. Congress鈥檚 new $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorizes $1,200 for adults and $500 for children in low- and middle-income families. Checks are expected to go out over the next three weeks. Unemployment benefits also get a boost over the next four months: extra money and extra weeks of eligibility. Crucially, for many of the newly jobless gig workers and self-employed, the guidelines have been loosened so they qualify for the first time.
Ms. Arnold, the wedding officiant in Rhode Island, was able to sign up online on Monday. Mr. Jennings, the Las Vegas handbill entrepreneur, has had too many gigs to file online and so far has only gotten a busy signal when calling in to the unemployment office.聽
Helping each other
In the meantime, he鈥檚 serving as spokesman for the , a GoFundMe campaign aimed at helping 100 experiential marketing workers, who often travel from state to state to work conventions and other events. The sponsors aim to raise $50,000 in 100 days. As of Wednesday, they鈥檇 raised more than $5,400 and helped 12 of the more than 600 people who have applied for aid.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been very grassroots,鈥� Mr. Jennings says. 鈥淢ost of our donations are people within the industry kicking in 20 bucks.鈥�
A similar spirit is taking place in Chicago as workers in the food industry rally to help each other. On a warm spring day, the newly jobless Mr. Ryal has just emerged from the Big Star restaurant, which is giving away free food to workers in the service industry from 5 to 7 p.m 鈥� a scene repeated at other venues around the city.
鈥淚鈥檒l be able to survive,鈥� says Mr. Ryal, holding a brown paper bag of groceries and a Styrofoam container holding a serving of carne asada. 鈥淲e鈥檙e leaning on other people.鈥�
Back in Savannah, Forsyth Park is nearly empty due to the stay-at-home order.
鈥淚鈥檓 the captain of my own ship 鈥� and it鈥檚 not moving at the moment,鈥� says Mr. Roberson, the now-unemployed father. 鈥淪till, my plan for now is just to ride the waves to where they are going to take me.鈥澛犅�
He looks down at the pizza box. His predicament of looming poverty isn鈥檛 so dire as to exclude consideration for others. 鈥淲ant a slice?鈥� he asks.
This story was reported by Monitor staff writers Laurent Belsie in Waltham, Massachusetts, and Patrik Jonsson in Savannah, Georgia, and by contributors Lee A. Dean in Plainwell, Michigan, and Richard Mertens in Chicago.
Editor鈥檚 note: The story was updated on April 2 with new jobless-claim numbers.
As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
