Hospitality jobs rank at the bottom of ‘quality’ positions on the Central Coast, report suggests.

A report released Tuesday, Oct. 1 determined that only 6.4 percent of hospitality jobs along the Central Coast qualify as “quality,” defined as those that pay a "living wage," among other factors.

On the other end, more than 80 percent of those in the utilities industry were “quality.”

That’s according to the six-county Uplift Central Coast Coalition in its Regional Plan Part II. The group consists of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, REACH and the Economic Development Collaborative, covering Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

“The Central Coast is marked by wide socio-economic disparities, with over 1 million residents, or 45 percent, struggling to make ends meet, meaning their incomes do not cover basic costs of living,” the report stated.

A “quality job” is defined as “one that pays a living wage that allows families to live and save, offers employer-sponsored health insurance and provides worker stability.” The report also looks at the percentage of “promising jobs” on the Central Coast, which are ones that lead to a quality job within a decade.

About 25 percent of the region’s jobs qualify as “quality,” while 15 percent of jobs are determined as “promising,” the report stated.

It lists a number of ways each industry can improve job quality in each industry. For hospitality, the report suggests adding employer-sponsored housing, creating more training opportunities and providing pathways to management-level positions, among other things.

The report, which was submitted to economic development and other departments within the State of California, is a result of research that began in May 2023, including input from more than 4,100 residents, according to Uplift.