According to the Employment Situation Summary released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on February 4, employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, among many other workforce industries in January.
Employment in leisure and hospitality expanded by 151,000 jobs in January, reflecting job gains in food services and drinking places (+108,000) and in the accommodation industry (+23,000). That said, since February 2020, employment in leisure and hospitality is still down by 1.8 million—or 10.3 percent. In all, leisure and hospitality accounts for 61 percent of the jobs lost due to the pandemic.
Following the report’s release, U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement: “While the overall jobs report [from February 4] may be good news for some, the revised BLS data now confirms an even bigger revelation, that 61 percent, or nearly two-thirds, of all jobs still lost due to the pandemic are in the leisure and hospitality sector. The uneven recovery of the travel sector is due in large part to the lack of inbound international travelers, and the deep reduction in business travel and professional meetings and events. There could not be a more pressing time for Congress to implement short-term priorities to stimulate this vital contributor to the U.S. economy and rebuild American jobs.”
The U.S. Travel Association listed several measures before Congress that it supports as aid to the recovery of the travel industry. These include:
- A higher cap on H-2B visas, to ease the absence of labor for the over one million job openings in the leisure and hospitality industry.
- Emergency support for Brand USA through passage of the Restoring Brand USA Act.
- Targeted, temporary tax credits and deductions to stimulate spending on business travel, live entertainment and in-person events.
- Additional funding for relief grants to severely impacted travel businesses.
Just prior to the report, the association in its annual “State of the Travel Industry” address from Washington, D.C. laid out its vision for the future of a sustainable and diverse travel industry.
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