Coronavirus Update: Search local layoffs by day, industry

New York area layoffs to due coronavirus

ByDan Krauth and Frank Esposito WABC logo

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

7 On Your Side Investigates: Search local layoffs by day, industry

Getting back to work is one of the main focuses as the New York City area begins to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. But 7 On Your Side Investigates found it could take some industries longer than others to bounce back.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Getting back to work is one of the main focuses as the New York City area begins to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. But 7 On Your Side Investigates found it could take some industries longer than others to bounce back.

We analyzed notices employers filed with the Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Department of New York. The notices filed for New York City, Long Island and the northern suburbs show more than 100,000 people were laid off over the past three months.

This chart shows the first round of layoffs took place on March 12 in New York City, the day Broadway announced it was shutting down.

Four days later, the city experienced another big jump in layoffs, at the same time Governor Andrew Cuomo encouraged employees to work from home.

However, as the data shows, the biggest day of job layoffs took place on March 25, with more than 7.100 workers laid off in a single day.

It came at a time when COVID-19 hospitalizations were rising and hospitals were rationing personal protection equipment.

"The rate of new cases is doubling every three days," Cuomo said during his daily press briefing that day. "That is a dramatic increase."

Day-by-day breakdown:

By far, the industry that lost the most jobs was the restaurant industry.

Top 10 hardest industry, and how many jobs were lost for each:

More than 51,000 restaurant workers have been laid off since March, and the owner of One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn told 7 On Your Side Investigates that she had to temporarily let go of almost her entire workforce.

"It's heartbreaking," Dawn Casale said. "I mean, these are people who have families who relied on this business."

The data shows the second hardest industry hit has been the hotel industry, with more than 16,000 employees laid off.

The owner of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group in New York City said he was forced to temporarily shut down one of his hotels, and the other has sat almost empty since the outbreak started.

"To see so many of your employees being laid off and saying to them you're not sure when they're coming back, that's the tough part of the whole thing," John Fitzpatrick said.

More than 60 hotels in New York City have closed since the pandemic started. Hotel workers worry some of them won't reopen.

The third hardest sector to be impacted has been the transportation industry, with more than 11,000 workers laid off. Following just behind transportation has been retail stores with more than 9,000 workers impacted.