(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

Saskatchewan foodservice sector lost 25,000 jobs in one month

Apr 2, 2020 | 11:30 AM

COVID-19 has cost Saskatchewan’s food service sector 25,000 jobs since March 1

According to a media release, Restaurants Canada estimates 800,000 foodservice jobs have already been lost across the country due to COVID-19.

The total job amount lost in Saskatchewan alone is 25,000. According to a survey by Restaurants Canada it revealed while many are out of work due to COVID-19, those jobs may not return.

With restaurants now struggling to pay rent and other bills due in April, the national association conducted a survey to shed light on the state of the industry. Responses collected so far from foodservice operators across the country have revealed:

• Four out of five restaurants have laid off employees since March 1.
• Seven out of 10 foodservice operators will further cut back on staff hours or lay off more employees if conditions do not improve.
• Nearly one out of 10 restaurants have already closed permanently and another 18 per cent will permanently close within a month if current conditions continue.

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“Not only was our industry among the first to feel the impacts of COVID-19, we’ve been one of the hardest hit so far, with nearly two thirds of our workforce now lost,” Shanna Munro, Restaurants Canada President and CEO said. “In our 75 years of existence as Canada’s national foodservice association, these are by far the worst numbers we have ever seen.”

Saskatchewan’s $2.4 billion foodservice industry represents three per cent of the province’s GDP and is the province’s third-largest private sector employer. If conditions do not improve, Restaurants Canada estimates Saskatchewan’s foodservice sales will be down more than $500 million for the second quarter of 2020.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow