- The sector’s unemployment rate continued to decline
- 17% of Leisure & Hospitality jobs have been lost and not yet recovered since February 2020
- Travel in the US is only operating at just over half strength
The Leisure & Hospitality industry gained 331,000 jobs in April—outperforming the overall US jobs increase of 266,000, and offsetting jobs losses in other sectors.
The sector’s unemployment rate continued to decline, from 15.9% in January to 13.0% in March and just 10.8% April—but remains significantly worse than overall US unemployment (6%).
Despite the gains in recent months, 17% of Leisure & Hospitality jobs have been lost (and not yet recovered) since February 2020. Leisure & Hospitality also accounts for 35% of all U.S. jobs still lost since February of last year.
“Leisure & Hospitality is significantly outperforming overall job creation even though travel in the US is only operating at just over half strength,” said Assoċjazzjoni tal-Ivvjaġġar tal-Istati Uniti Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes. “International travel and business travel accounted for 41% of all travel spending in 2019, but those two segments remain virtually halted.
“This disappointing jobs report would have been significantly worse without Leisure & Hospitality, and we’re missing a huge opportunity to restore jobs by not prioritizing the reopening of two key segments of the travel industry.”