National Restaurant Association Projects Industry Loss of 5–7 Million Jobs and $225 Billion in Sales

The National Restaurant Association has released its outlook for the foodservice industry in light of the COVID-19 outbreak that is shuttering businesses across the country, and it is not optimistic.

In a letter to President Donal Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the NRA urger Congressional leaders to take 12 steps to prevent the worst-case scenario for the industry. 

“Economically, we are anticipating sales to decline by $225 billion during the next three months, which will prompt the loss of between five and seven million jobs,” the NRA wrote. “The restaurant industry is one of low margins, tight cash flow, and a workforce that depends on us for their livelihood. Without aggressive and immediate action from the federal government, many restaurants that are a staple of local communities will simply never resume service.”

Among the steps the NRA is requesting is a $145 billion recovery fund to “compensate for reduced revenue attributed to coronavirus-related declines in order to pay employees, maintain service operations, meet transactional and financial obligations.”

The letter also recommends an investment of $35 billion for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBGDR) assistance, loan and insurance options for small businesses, $45 billion in “expanded access to effective, efficient and affordable federal and conventional loans” and a number of tax measures to help businesses survive and recover from the ongoing crisis. 

On Tuesday, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin warned that the COVID-19 outbreak could result in a 20 percent jobless rate even if a proposed $1 trillion economic stimulus is enacted. That number is expected to be far higher in the foodservice industry.

Read the NRA’s full letter.