News from the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership

Palm Springs, CA: The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership released an updated look at the local Coachella Valley economy this week.  Below are a few highlights along with a link to the full report.

Job Loss Projections

In the Coachella Valley, the initial projections for job losses from December 2019 to May 2020 are 53,795 which constitutes a decline of 28.7%. This leaves only 133,423 people actively reporting for work or working from home on a daily basis in a region with a permanent population of roughly 463,000. The unemployment rate in the Coachella Valley was approximately 7.2% (this includes rural and unincorporated areas of our region) before COVID-19, and is projected to be 31.9% in May of 2020. This projection may exclude many entrepreneurs, small business owners and 1099 contractors not included in numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who may also have lost their ability to earn a living. There are many such entities in the Coachella Valley.

Business Loss Projections 

The president of the Hayek Institute has projected that 30% of all businesses will not survive the economic disruptions caused by COVID-19. Applying this figure to the Coachella Valley, the region could see the closure of 4,752 businesses as a result of this crisis. Because many of the businesses in the Coachella Valley exist to serve the tourism industry it is not unreasonable to expect that the casualty rate among small businesses here will be even higher than state, national and international estimates.

Full Report:

CVEP Employment Impact Report_Final_05-04-20