U.S. Hotels Continue Job Growth, but Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Hotels in the U.S. are continuing to add jobs although the hospitality industry still has a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic employment levels.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed Friday that hotels added roughly 5,500 jobs in June, a jump from the 1,300 new jobs the sector added the previous month. Meanwhile, the broader leisure and hospitality industry — which includes hotels — added about 21,000 positions, representing approximately 10% of the total jobs created in the U.S. last month.

Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, expressed optimism that hotels would continue to be an attractive sector for those seeking work. But he acknowledged a lot more has to be done to increase employment in the hotel industry. Overall employment in leisure and hospitality is 2.2% – roughly 369,000 jobs – below February 2020 levels.

“We need Congress to help address workforce shortages with bipartisan solutions, including those that create opportunities for more immigrants to enter the American economy,” said Rogers.

The U.S. added 209,000 jobs in June, a figure below what economists had predicted. June’s job growth represented a substantial decrease from May’s modified total of 306,000. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly from 3.7% in May to 3.6% in June.