Out-of-state and international visitors, as well as corporate businesses, have still not returned to Napa Valley. Experts say it could be as many as four years before visitation returns to 2019 levels.
As of this April, the number of Napa city jobs was still only 93.3% of its total in January 2020 — three months before the coronavirus’ arrival in the U.S. triggered abrupt business closures and stay-at-home orders, throwing millions out of work virtually overnight. The pattern closely tracks trends across California, which was at 93.4% of its 2020 employment peak.
“We have some room to go,” said Eyler, speaking by videoconference Tuesday to council members at City Hall. “We’ve wobbled some the last few months, which is typical of North Bay cities and counties, and we need to get that flat line up to the red dotted line,” he said, referring to pre-pandemic employment levels.
The city of Napa’s jobless rate as of April was 6.7%, compared to 6.3% for Napa County but improving on California’s overall figure of 8.1%. However, the number of jobs in the city and the size of its labor force — which excludes people not actively searching for work — both lagged the totals from the same month in 2019, with employment down by 9.8% and the workforce 6.1% smaller, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.
Looking for a Napa County job? Hospitality hiring rose significantly in April.
Many of the sectors where jobs have been slow to return to pre-pandemic levels are those intertwined with the Napa Valley’s wine and tourism businesses, said Eyler. In the hospitality field — including those working in hotels, restaurants, and theaters — nearly 27 of every 100 jobs that existed in April 2019 have not come back.
