
With over 2,000 employees, Boka Restaurant Group has grown to be one of Chicago’s most well known restaurant groups. Forward several months later, the unemployment rate decreased to 6.9%. In April 2020, the number of employed restaurant workers dropped to 6.4 million. Unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in the fourth month of 2020. In a small comparison in April 2019, there were 12 million restaurant workers in the United States. We see this when comparing the number of unemployment claims vs. “Many of these people who lost jobs may also be receiving unemployment which would help soften the loss of economic activity. “There was a steep drop in GDP last quarter signifying a decrease in spending activity,” Kucera said. In the month of April alone there has been at least 5.9 million hospitality jobs lost across the US.Īlex Kucera, a macroeconomics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago has been analyzing the damage that unemployment has been causing to the economy of the United States.


In the early beginning of the pandemic restaurants all across the country have been forced to shut down. How things are going it does not look like things will change for the better in the service industry.” “Some have been with the company for years and it was sad to see them go. “I saw many of my coworkers leave,” she said. Sometimes my check comes around a good $6.”īoka Restaurant Group, one of the largest hospitality groups in Chicago, has laid off over 500 employees from 12 of Boka’s 20 restaurants in the city. “The thing about being a server, is that when business is down, we cannot count on our hourly wages. “With people tipping poorly and my hours getting cut, I am struggling to pay off my school tuition and bills. “My income has dropped immensely,” she said. 20, restaurants have no choice but continue to lay off employees and possibly closing down their business.

With new regulations taking effect in November, including mandated Tier 3 restrictions on Nov. Since the pandemic hit in March, more than 41,000 restaurant workers have been laid off in Chicago, and an estimated 3,000 more will be added on the list.Īlexa Cruz, a full-time student and waitress for Boka Restaurant Group, is hoping she won’t be one of them. 14, 2020īig Bricks Pizza and BBQ empty patio on a Saturday night on Aug. Numbers Not Adding up for Some Chicago, Suburban Restaurantsīy Osvaldo Taboada | Posted: Tuesday, Dec.
