Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles wildfires in January in the Palisades and Eaton neighborhoods resulted in reduced hours for area workers across industries, except one: leisure and hospitality, according to a report from ADP.
- Average hours for leisure and hospitality workers rose during the weeks of Jan. 5, 12 and 19, growing 1.4%, 2.8% and 2.9% year on year, respectively, according to ADP payroll data. Across all industries, hours worked fell 5.1%, or about two hours, in the week of Jan. 5, and were also down the following two weeks.
- The boost in worker hours comes as Los Angeles’ hospitality industry has played a crucial role in recovery efforts as hotels have housed people displaced by the wildfires, per ADP.
Dive Insight:
Wildfires in Southern California had “an immediate impact on the labor market” in the region, according to ADP, resulting in lost hours and fewer paychecks for hourly workers.
Manufacturing workers, in particular, were hit hard, with hours down 6.7% the week of Jan. 5. Transportation and utilities workers also saw a 5.9% reduction in hours for the week.
But leisure and hospitality workers saw their hours rise as “fires destroyed homes and evacuations pushed people into hotels and restaurants,” per ADP.
Many of Los Angeles’ most iconic hotels were full last month as displaced locals sought shelter. Even luxury hotels like the Beverly Hills Hotel, The Four Seasons Beverly Hills and the Peninsula Hotel were sold out, The Daily Mail reported.
Hilton, meanwhile, partnered with American Express to offer 20,000 free hotel rooms to area residents impacted by the fires. Airbnb also offered temporary housing to people in need of an emergency stay.
Going forward, hotels could benefit from the heightened demand during recovery. Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme, associate director of commercial real estate research at Moody’s, told Hotel Dive last month that “long-term, undamaged businesses may benefit from increased demand from construction workers during recovery efforts in the area.”
