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NYC restaurant jobs still sharply down from pre-virus levels

October 2, 2020 GMT

FILE- In this Sept. 30, 2020 file photo, waiter Lenworth Thompson serves lunch to David Zennario, left, and Alex Ecklin at Junior's Restaurant in New York. New York City's restaurants are employing only slightly more than half the number of people they were before the coronavirus wreaked havoc in the industry, according to a report released Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020 by the state comptroller. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s restaurants are employing only slightly more than half the number of people they were before the coronavirus wreaked havoc in the industry, according to a report released Thursday by the state comptroller.

There were more than 315,000 people employed in the city restaurant sector in February, which dropped dramatically to 91,000 in April at the height of the virus surge and business restrictions, according to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

As of August, that number had rebounded, but only up to 174,000, 55% of the pre-virus level.

The report found that as of the first week of September, 43% of restaurants and bars across the city had sought permits for outdoor dining. In Manhattan, 50% of establishments had gotten the permits, as did more than 40% of places in Brooklyn and Queens.