- Sixty percent of restaurant owners say that existing federal relief programs won’t be enough to keep employees on payroll during the downturn, a new survey from the National Restaurant Association says.
- A separate survey from the National Small Business Association finds that just 5% of small business respondents that applied for an EIDL loan have received any money so far, while a quarter of businesses say they’ve received PPP funding.
- Restaurants reported $30 billion in losses in March, a projected $50 billion in losses in April, and are teeing up for a $240 billion Covid-19-related loss nationwide by the end of the year.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll on the U.S. economy, a new survey from the National Restaurant Association lays out how dire the situation is for the industry. More than two-thirds of the restaurant workforce, or 8 million employees, have lost their jobs as shelter-in-place orders and mandatory closures have severely impacted the industry’s ability to conduct business.
What’s more, 60% of restaurant owners say that existing federal relief programs, including the CARES Act, which allocated some $350 billion in relief for small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program, won’t be enough to keep employees on payroll during the downturn.
Restaurants reported $30 billion in losses in March, a projected $50 billion in losses in April, and are teeing up for a $240 billion Covid-19-related loss nationwide by the end of the year. Prior to Covid-19, the industry had been projecting $899 billion in sales this year, with 15.6 million employees, the association said.