3 Minutes Read (Reuters) – According to a blog post published Thursday by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, rising COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States are boosting job growth in the food and lodging industry, but not in areas where people may work from home more easily. PHOTO FROM THE FILE: On the pier in Santa Monica, California, U.S., June 22, 2021, a restaurant advertises for employees after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions were repealed. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters According to Chicago Fed economist Scott Brave and research assistant Stephanie Grove, the link between jabs and jobs among restaurant and hotel workers is substantially stronger in the West than in the South. The study’s overall findings make intuitive sense, as immunizations protect both employees and customers, reducing fear of infection and allowing governments to relax restrictions that have hampered the leisure and hospitality industry since the outbreak began. The regional variation, Brave added in an interview, was even more surprising. “Higher vaccination rates are assisting in the removal of limitations and encouraging people to return to meals and travel,” he said. “There’s not as strong a connection” in the South, he added, probably because those states reopened earlier and faster than the rest of the country. Vaccination uptake in the South has likewise been slower than in other parts of the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its June jobs report on Friday, which will provide the next update on the labor market in the United States. Food and lodging employment is 2 million jobs below its pre-COVID peak, accounting for more than a quarter of the overall job loss since the pandemic began. Jobs by Industry Graph – According to the Chicago Fed study, a one-percentage-point rise in the vaccinated population equaled nearly 15,000 restaurant and lodging jobs. It was discovered that immunizations resulted in the creation of 90,000 employment in June. The study discovered, on the other hand, that there was no link between vaccination uptake and occupations in the banking and insurance industries. Since April, when immunizations were more readily available and the number of people receiving daily injections surpassed 3 million, the food and lodging industry has generated roughly 220,000 jobs every month. More over half of the gains in April and May might be attributed to vaccination rates, according to Brave. Because daily doses have decreased since then, he believes the contribution of vaccination uptake on the June jobs data has decreased as well. “At some time, this will be less of a factor,” he said. Ann Saphir contributed reporting, and Andrea Ricci edited the piece./n
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