Hospitality Industry Jobs Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

The May jobs report has been released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and while the report was better than expected, hospitality remains below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the report, 390,000 jobs were added over the last month, and 69 percent of the industries tracked by the Labor Department were adding workers.

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The largest gains were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 84,000 jobs; however, the U.S. Travel Association noted that the sector remains below pre-pandemic.

Executive vice president of public affairs and policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued a statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May employment report: “With only 84,000 jobs added in May, Leisure & Hospitality employment remains 7.9 percent below pre-pandemic levels, with 1.3 million of these jobs still lost. While many industries have now nearly or fully recovered and are posting job openings focused on growth, L&H is desperately seeking to fill jobs just to recover to where it was in 2019.”

The association has called on Congress and the Biden administration to help the leisure and hospitality sector, asking for specific actions such as eliminating pre-departure COVID-19 testing.