Food service industry hit especially hard by coronavirus-induced unemployment spike

(Worthy News) – The number of people claiming unemployment has spiked significantly, with a new Department of Labor report claiming that a 33 percent week-to-week increase is the highest since the Great Recession.

Despite the December 2019 national unemployment rate being the lowest it had been in over four decades, and a general decrease in unemployment over the last three years, an “increase in initial claims…clearly attributable to impacts from the COVID-19 virus” changed the trend.

“A number of states specifically cited COVID-19 related layoffs, while many states reported increased layoffs in service-related industries broadly and in the accommodation and food services industries specifically, as well as in the transportation and warehousing industry, ” the report states.

President Trump limited all non-essential travel between the US and Canada Wednesday, closing the northern border “by mutual consent.”

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