The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented economic shutdown as thousands of “nonessential” businesses have closed their doors. The crisis disproportionately affects the 21.3% of American workers in retail, leisure, and hospitality who not only face lack of work, but also suffer from long-standing, below-average wages. According to the latest annual data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for workers in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors was just $19.70 and $16.55 in 2019, compared to $28 per hour across all workers.

Overall, the share of workers in retail, leisure, and hospitality increased steadily from 1970 to 2016 when it peaked at 21.8%. This trend was largely driven by an increasing share of employment in restaurants and bars, while employment in retail stagnated. Even though the last few years have seen a modest decline in the share of workers in these two sectors overall, more than one-fifth of all U.S. workers were employed in either retail trade or leisure and hospitality in 2019, totalling over 32 million workers.

To find the locations with the workforces most impacted by COVID-19, researchers at Volusion used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The researchers ranked states according to the share of workers employed in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality industries. Researchers also looked at the total number of retail trade workers, the total number of leisure and hospitality workers, the cost of living, and the percent of residents below the poverty level.

This analysis found that 21.6% of Georgia's working population operates in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality industries. Georgia's workforce is experiencing an above average impact during the coronavirus pandemic. Here is the summary of the data for Georgia:

Share of employment in retail, leisure and hospitality: 21.6%

Total retail workers: 493,200

Total leisure and hospitality workers: 502,100

Cost of living: 7.5% below average

Percent below the poverty level: 14.3%

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

Share of employment in retail, leisure and hospitality: 21.3%

Total retail workers: 15,786,300

Total leisure and hospitality workers: 16,295,000

Cost of living: N/A

Percent below the poverty level: 13.1%

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results for all states, you can find the original report on Volusion’s website: https://www.volusion.com/blog/cities-with-the-most-impacted-workforces-during-coronavirus/