Coronavirus Puts Nearly Half Of LA Workers At Risk Of Losing Their Jobs

By David Wagner

Published Apr 10, 2020 5:33 PM

More than two million Californians have already filed for unemployment in the wake of coronavirus-related business closures. That’s one out of every eight workers in the state.

But a new study finds things could get much worse as the crisis drags on.

Researchers with the Economic Roundtable, an L.A. nonprofit, find that 43% of California workers are at high risk of unemployment. They came up with that number based on risk factors like:

Not being able to work from home
Being paid hourly
Working in a field deemed non-essential

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Economic Roundtable President and study co-author Daniel Flaming said the risk in L.A. County is even higher, with 47% of workers here in danger of losing their jobs.

“We are less affluent than the San Francisco Bay Area and have a higher concentration of low-paid service jobs,” Flaming said. “That leads to a higher level of risk.”

The report finds the risk of job loss is not evenly distributed. Young people, Latinos and those with low incomes are at higher risk of getting laid off.

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Coronavirus Puts Nearly Half Of LA Workers At Risk Of Losing Their Jobs