Most of these folks are low-skilled people who would rather work than sponge off the system. Hoteliers, as a group, are really good at promoting from within, educating their staff, and providing folks with opportunities to advance based on their work ethic. Contrary to what others have claimed, the hotels VET their staff, and do not use "day laborers." The liability is too high to hire illegals.
This does not include senior level staff (managers, etc.), who usually are college graduates.
As occupancy rates plummet, expect to see a lot more people hitting the unemployment roles.
Local municipalities get a lot of revenue from the hospitality industry. HOT, in certain destinations, contributes substantially to the local budget.
The only other time we saw numbers like this was POST-911.
It's bad, and it's going to get worse. Didn't Bambi's crew claim that the recession is over? BS. Hospitality is the LAST to recover. When their numbers are up again, then it's over.