New jobs numbers show how badly Syracuse area restaurant workers have been devastated during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Jobs in the leisure and hospitality business in the Syracuse area dropped 21{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} from December 2019 to December 2020, the state labor department reported.
The industry had 6,000 fewer jobs over the 2020 holidays compared to the year before.
Overall, the region lost nearly 35,000 jobs in one year, a drop of about 11{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1}.
The new state numbers show the impact of the coronavirus shutdowns in 2020, especially as restaurants spent the holidays under severe state restrictions.
At least 22 restaurants closed forever in 2020 and more have shut down temporarily.
Some parts of the Syracuse region, which includes Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties, spent the holidays in state-designated orange and yellow zones. Restaurants in orange zones had to close indoor dining and open for take-out only. Yellow zones also had restrictions that limit the number of diners to four per table.
The state lifted the indoor dining restriction in orange zones Jan. 14 after an Erie County court sided with restaurants who had sued the state.
Other industries that suffered major job losses from December 2019 to 2020 include the broad category of professional and business services, down 14{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1}, and trade, transportation and utilities, down 12{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1}.
Education and health services jobs and manufacturing jobs were down about 9{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} over the year before.
The state unemployment rate for December was 8.1{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} The December 2019 rate was 3.7{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1}.
That is higher than the national unemployment rate of 6.5{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} for December 2020.
Unemployment in Upstate New York was more in line with national numbers, at 5.9{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1}.
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Contact Michelle Breidenbach | [email protected] | 315-470-3186.
