While the overall U.S. jobs market has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, the Leisure & Hospitality (L&H) industry still remains far behind in its recovery of lost, and desperately needed, jobs.

  • At 7.2%, L&H has a higher share of jobs still lost than any industry except for mining
  • With 1.2 million jobs still lost, L&H losses far exceed those of any other industry

This underscores how disproportionately the L&H sector was, and continues to be, impacted by the pandemic. The attached slides decks analyze the latest trends in the L&H industry.

View the September 2022 Report (August data).

View the 2021 Year in Review Report.

What is the difference between L&H and Travel Employment?

Please note: Leisure & Hospitality (L&H) is an official industry category defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). L&H employment trends are often used as a proxy for travel industry employment since there is significant overlap between the two categories. The following document explains the similarities and differences between L&H and travel employment. L&H data is available monthly from BLS. Direct and Indirect travel employment is calculated annually by U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics.

About U.S. Travel Association

U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing the $1.3 trillion travel industry, an essential contributor to our nation's economy and success. U.S. Travel produces programs and insights and advocates for policies to increase travel to and within the United States. Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related data.