Millions of essential workers, first responders clocking in on Christmas Day

Millions nationwide working Christmas Day

While the majority of people in the country have Christmas Day off, around 10% of the labor force are clocking in for the holiday, a recent survey showed. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez talks to those working today.

PHOENIX - The majority of people in the country have the day off. But a recent survey shows around 10% of the labor force clocks in on Christmas Day.

By the numbers:

That equates to millions of people. The majority of people working today are in healthcare, hotels, airports and restaurants. Plus first responders—which total around 16 million people nationwide.

Local perspective:

"We do a lot of catering today," said Amy Zheng of Wong’s Chinese Food.

"We got here at 7 a.m. Yeah, we’ve been here all morning prepping," said Angel Gould of Lovebite Dumplings.

Big picture view:

On Christmas Day, and a sliver of society is hard at work.

From Phoenix firefighters who are pulling a 24-hour shift—making garlic herb butter for prime rib.

"It’s fun. We have our families down. We all cook. We have members of the community bring food down. So grateful of that. And we run calls. It’s just like any other day," said Phoenix Fire spokesperson Todd Keller.

Dig deeper:

Over at Lovebite, the owner spent hours Christmas morning preparing 1,000 dumplings and five big bowls of rice, donating the delicious meals to serve people down on their luck at the St. Vincent de Paul’s Christmas dinner.

"We have an amazing staff that volunteered their time as well today. So it's been a lot more doable, a lot of people who are choosing to not do Christmas Day morning with their family and extend it to afternoon," Gould said.

What they're saying:

But the busiest kitchen was inside Wong’s Chinese Restaurant, with customers thankful they're open on Christmas.

"Very much. Just landed a half hour ago. Only place open nearby," the customer said.

The owner brought in 12 employees to help with the Christmas rush.

"It’s okay. Just to make people happy," Zheng said.

What's next:

Amy and her staff will be working until 8 p.m. But regardless, everyone had the same plans for Christmas night.

"I’m putting on my pajamas and I’m watching movies all day," Gould said.

The best part of working on Christmas is you are paid double time, or you're the only business open. So for those folks, it’s a merry Christmas indeed.