Research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute has
found that only half of all small businesses
have enough cash on hand to last a month
without revenue.
Even after government closure orders
are lifted, many consumers won’t likely
be comfortable shopping, eating out or
attending concerts, movies or sporting
events, especially as they used to — as part
of tightly seated crowds. Not until the virus
is well under control can a full economic
recovery likely happen, economists say.
In the meantime, structural changes in
the economy might help make many
temporary layoffs permanent. It’s not clear,
for example, when restaurants will need
anywhere near as many workers they did
before the virus struck.
Nelis Rodriguez has worked as a server at
the M Restaurant & Lounge in the Warwick
Hotel in downtown Chicago for 21 years.
But revenue at the restaurant steadily
disappeared as conventions that are critical
for spring sales were canceled. She received
two days’ notice of her layoff before the
restaurant closed March 15th.
Rodriguez, 45, never thought she’d be thrown
out of work, so she’d never thought about
finding another job. But now she fears that as
the coronavirus lingers, she might be laid off
again and again.
“I think I will try to get out of the restaurant
business altogether because I am afraid now,”
she said.