Although Georgia has begun to re-open its businesses, the
effects of the state’s shelter-in-place instructions will remain for some time.
While it is true that everyone felt the effects of the order
because they could not participate in normal activities such as going out to
eat or attending concerts, younger workers were especially vulnerable both
because they could not participate in their normal activities as well as the
fact that many of the jobs lost because of businesses closing impacted younger
workers more than the overall population.
At the end of December, almost 398,000 people were employed
in food services and drinking establishments in the state including everything
from full-service restaurants to fast-food and bars.
In addition, nearly 52,000 people were employed in the arts,
entertainment, and recreation industry in Georgia. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics defines this industry as including performing arts (theater, music),
sports teams, museums, and recreational activities (golfing, fitness centers, marinas,
etc.).
Together, these two groups constitute 449,000 workers or more
than 11% of the state’s employment.
Occupations filled with younger workers
While data at the state level is not available, we know that
many of the jobs in the industries mentioned above were held by younger workers.
For example, BLS has produced information showing the
average age of workers by occupation and many of the jobs in the two industries have some of the youngest median age workers of all industries
in the U.S. To give some perspective, 42.3 was the median age of all workers.
Median worker age, 2019:
· Entertainment attendants, median age 25.6
Food preparation and serving workers, median age 26.3
Waiters and waitresses, median age 26.6
Cashiers, median age 27.2
Parking lot attendants, median age 28.2
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks, median age 29.1
Dishwashers, median age 29.8
Automotive and watercraft service attendants, median age
30.2
Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers, median
age 30.6
Bartenders, median age 32.7
For workers, the loss of these jobs, even temporarily
and even though many of them are relatively low paying, is significant even
with their wages being offset by unemployment insurance.
It is likely that even with reopening of restaurants, etc., there
will be fewer customers as some will be reluctant to venture out except for necessities.
While workers will be recalled, some jobs will be lost
permanently. The travel, entertainment, and hospitality industries have been large employers in the past, but it is likely that they have a more mooted future.
Younger workers, with many decades ahead of them in the labor force, need to think about switching jobs into industries that may offer better long-term opportunities.
What if there is a second wave of covid 19?
Georgia’s Governor Kemp has given instructions to slowly
re-open the state even though the number of cases of the coronavirus continues
to grow, albeit at a more moderate pace.
If the reopening of these establishments leads to a second
wave of the virus, it may be much harder to enforce a second shelter-in-place
especially for younger workers who would not have yet recovered economically
from the first order.
The shelter-in-place order most certainly saved lives, and if it prevented a total longer-term shutdown of Georgia's economy, then the economic cost was worthwhile.
But its value should not negate the acknowledgement that for younger workers in vulnerable jobs, the future looks
very uncertain, and workers in the travel, entertainment, and hospitality industries need to reassess whether they need to transition to other industries with better long-term job prospects.
