Less than half of adult residents in Los Angeles County were employed this month, according to a new study.
A University of Southern California study found 45% of residents in L.A. County reported having a job, a 16% slide from mid-March. The study estimated 1.3 million residents in the Los Angeles area have lost their jobs as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 22 million people have filed for unemployment since states across the country have implemented stay-at-home orders and closed nonessential businesses to curb the spread of the virus. Across California, 3.1 million people have filed for unemployment since mid-March, according to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We are now in a pandemic-induced recession here in the state of California,” Newsom said during a press conference last week.
The hospitality industry has been especially affected by the stay-at-home orders in the state, accounting for nearly 15% of the workforce, or more than 800,000 people, across L.A. County and Orange County.
The former director of the state Employment Development Department, Michael Bernick, warned that unemployment in the state will go over 12.5% when April’s job numbers are released.
“These numbers indicate only a small part of the devastation,” Bernick said.
