It’s no surprise that restaurants and bars were among the hardest hit during the pandemic.
Researchers at Wisconsin Policy Forum looked into how they’re doing at this point in the recovery. Joseph Peterangelo says they examined employment numbers and sales tax revenue. Employment is down more in this sector than in the economy overall. Sales have also retuned but is still trailing the entire economy. Sales revenue is up 12.4 percent for the entire economy and is only up by 6.8 percent for bars and restaurants.
Peterangelo isn’t sure why job recovery in this sector is weaker in Wisconsin than nationally. He says the industry has received more than $1 billion in federal and state grant money. Peterangelo believes this kept many from shutting down for good.
