PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s hospitality industry could lose one-third of its revenue and shed tens of thousands of jobs this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, University of Maine economists say.
The report issued Tuesday compares the likely performance of restaurants and lodging businesses this year with how they fared in 2018, the most recent year analyzed by economists for the HospitalityMaine trade group, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The study predicts the Maine hospitality industry’s economic contribution for the full year will be $4.6 billion, about 33% less than two years ago, It also projects a 42% drop in employment.
Nationwide, leisure and hospitality businesses shed more than 7 million jobs between March and May, according to the most recent jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.