The list is intended to help state, local, tribal and territorial officials as they work to protect their communities while ensuring continuity of functions critical to public health, safety, and economic and national security. Gavin Newsom ordered everyone to stay home in California unless you are an essential worker. We can consider these numbers as an indicator of how concentrated critical industries are in that state. In light of this, we wanted to create a visual representation of where essential workers are most concentrated in the United States. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - This month, Gov. For example, the, in Washington D.C. include government, healthcare, and community services – all of which are deemed essential under the current situation explains. Areas of the country that might not typically be in the foreground of our economic life are becoming clear centers of essential industries. We can consider these numbers as an indicator of how concentrated critical industries are in that state. As you can see, healthcare workers only make up about 5% of our national labor force. Knowing that the front line of workers facing this pandemic are in the healthcare industry, we also wanted to call out the states with the most essential workers in healthcare. The DHS list gives a detailed analysis of what each worker’s job function must be in order to be considered essential. I think there needs to be a fair reflection in the pay people are getting: doctors, nurses, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, everyone at the front of this. Praise for the heroic work being done by health-care workers to save lives worldwide in dangerous, exhausting conditions is everywhere. ... Why many ‘essential’ workers get paid so little, according to experts. of workers facing this pandemic are in the healthcare industry, we also wanted to call out the states with the most essential workers in healthcare. However, as we reported in our 2018 Alice Report, the most common professions in our economy also tend to be paid the least. The United States has been weathering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for weeks now, and, as a result, we’ve been forced to reckon with the many inequities that are coming to light. Employees that fall under these categories are referred to as "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers" and are generally required to deliver services around the clock. Often using CISA’s guidelines as a starting point, states have added and subtracted essential worker categories and sectors based on what makes the most sense for them. In 2016, the mean hourly wage for cashiers in Maryland was $9.45. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30 million US workers were employed in six broad industries that are now on the frontlines of the response. As you can see, the national rate of essential workers in the labor force is 45.2%. Some, however, may not be so obvious. The regular schedules of work, daycare, and school that families depend on have been uprooted, and millions of workers have lost their jobs and have no source of income to depend on right now. There are exceptions to … There’s a stark contrast in suffering between the private and public sectors in this era of unprecedented government intrusion into American life and business. As many organizations are determining what services and functions are essential to the continuity of operations and incident response, Public Safety Canada has compiled a non-exhaustive list of essential services and functions to support this effort and assist in enabling the movement of critical infrastructure workers within and between jurisdictions. What does this tell us about our economy? The L.A. County health order will stay in effect until April 19, with the possibility of extension. At United Way of the National Capital Area, we’ve partnered with Windows Catering to deliver 8,000 meals to frontline hospital personnel in medical facilities across the region. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, At least 6 arrested as Trump supporters gather for DC protests. committee are overlapping — many essential workers have high … A significant portion of these workers, frontline workers, cannot work remotely. While restaurants, cafes, airlines and car manufacturers are laying off employees, places like Amazon and Walmart are hiring 100,000 and 150,000 more workers, respectively. Several states have issued orders mandating that everyone aside from nonessential workers stay home ad most businesses shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. There are 19 million health care workers nationwide, nearly three times as many as in agriculture, law enforcement and the package delivery industry … In North Dakota and Wyoming, major industries include agriculture and energy. Essential workers have been called on to meet our basic needs during the COVID-19 shutdown. Many of the essential workers in the U.S. also have to take taxis, rideshares and mass transit to get to work. Hazard pay questions are now flying in … Nearly a week ago, the House passed The Heroes Act which provides $200 billion in hazard pay funding for essential workers, among many other things. The states with the highest percentage of essential workers in their labor force include Washington, D.C. (74.93%), North Dakota (57.20%), Wyoming (53.46%), Indiana (51.80%), and Kentucky (51.26%). “While there are certain professionals that are of every ethnicity and race in the country, it is also the case that many on the front lines are low-wage … low-status workers and they’re often very disproportionately African American and Latinx.” According to DHS' Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), there are 14 categories that the agency recommends as "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers." There have been 216,722 confirmed cases in the country with 8,672 recoveries, as the below graphic from Statista illustrates. According to the federal government's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 2,150,000 non-postal federal employees. For example, the main industries in Washington D.C. include government, healthcare, and community services – all of which are deemed essential under the current situation explains Hard Money Property. The orders ban all gatherings outside of a single home and require non-essential businesses that require employees to report for work to shut down. Today I helped my parents order some groceries via Instacart. Some, however, may not be so obvious. We must also consider the income inequality many workers face, despite now being deemed “essential.”, What does this tell us about our economy? We estimate that in a typical year, roughly one-third to one-half of California’s labor force is employed in essential … It includes workers such as doctors and nurses, as well as grocery store clerks, transportation workers, and janitorial staff. As you can see, the national rate of essential workers in the labor force is 45.2%. For janitors and cleaners, it was $11.55. To do this, we decided to take a look at which states have the highest percentage of their workforce in these essential industries, as it gives us a solid idea of where the most essential workers are in the U.S. right now. Many more of these young and middle-aged workers—not 80-year-olds with underlying conditions—are breathing through ventilators today. There have been two U.S. government shutdowns in recent history, Nov 1995 and Dec 1995. Keep up with coronavirus news across Southern California here. There are proposals in Congress to extend hazard pay, but their future is uncertain . The remaining 22 states who have issued essential worker orders have developed their own lists of who needs to be continuing to work under stay-at-home orders. These workers are being dubbed front-line heroes because they are putting their lives on the line so communities can continue to function. Schools that offer long distance learning, Child care centers that take care of the children of exempted workers. Areas of the country that might not typically be in the foreground of our economic life are becoming clear centers of essential industries. Other states with high percentages of healthcare workers in their labor force include South Dakota (6.7%), North Dakota (6.7%), and Delaware (6.4%). In the meantime, find ways to support essential workers in your community if you are able. Interested in the percentage of essential workers in your state, as well as the top essential industry in all 50 states? Read on to discover what we found out. Thank you for your interest. “Essential workers are absolutely more vulnerable,” Mary Osirim, provost and professor of sociology at Bryn Mawr College, told BuzzFeed News. We must also consider the income inequality many workers face, despite now being deemed “essential.”. Sanitation workers. Skip to main content. 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