San Francisco faces permanent population decline

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – As the reported ongoing exodus from US cities to suburbs continues, analysts believe San Francisco is set to see a major, permanent, population decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zero Hedge reports.

San Francisco is vulnerable to losing a key section of its working population as, for the first time, big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Uber have allowed employees to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak: “Sales tax data shows San Francisco’s population likely declined during the coronavirus pandemic,” San Francisco chief economist Ted Egan told Zero Hedge.

An important metric for understanding how many residents have left is that the city suffered a massive loss of revenue in 2020: “From April to June, the city’s sales tax revenue dropped to $30.8 million, down 43% from the prior year,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Zero Hedge adds: “San Francisco’s taxable online sales were up only 1% in that three-month period compared to the same period a year ago, while other California cities saw gains over 10% as people ordered more home deliveries.”

As coronavirus bans on indoor dining hit the city, restaurant and bar sales decreased by 65%. The fact that the entertainment and food and drink industries have been heavily curtailed is also considered an important reason for the perceived exodus: there is no reason to live with the discomfort of an urban environment if there is no entertainment, culture or night life to make it worthwhile.

According to Zero Hedge, it is unlikely that those who have left the city will return in the near future, given that companies like Microsoft are reorganizing themselves to allow for employees to work from home on a permanent basis.

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