Travel industry jobs are biggest drivers of middle class growth in U.S., study shows

The U.S. Travel Association, the main lobbying/cheerleading organization for the travel industry in U.S., has come out with a new report on the growth and effect of travel jobs on U.S. economic progress. The study was done based on 30 years of longitudinal data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and analyzed by Oxford Economics and USTA.

Some highlights:
— Earning Higher Wages: The average maximum salary for employees who start their career in the travel industry reaches $81,900 – significantly more than other industries.

— Building the Middle Class: The travel industry is one of the top 10 largest employers of middle-class wage earners in the U.S. More than half of all travel industry employees (53 percent) earn a middle-class salary or higher.

— Leading to Rewarding Careers: Two out of five workers who start their careers in the travel industry go on to earn more than $100,000 per year.

The charts below illustrates travel’s importance to larger U.S. economy: