US leisure and hospitality sector gains 355K jobs in February

• Even with the progress made with vaccinations, it is far from clear when travel demand will be able to rebound on its own
• Leisure and travel industry’s unemployment rate now stands at 13.5%
• The outlook will remain dire for travel businesses and workers without substantial policy assistance from Washington

The U.S. Leisure & Hospitality sector gained 355,000 jobs in February and the industry’s unemployment rate now stands at 13.5%—compared with 379,000 jobs gained and a 6.2% unemployment rate for the overall economy, according to the monthly employment report released Friday by the Department of Labor. U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following comment:

“While today’s report shows travel industry jobs heading in the right direction, the fact remains that the Leisure & Hospitality sector’s total jobs are still at just 80% of the levels we saw last February—a staggering figure. The travel industry lost millions of jobs last year, accounting for nearly 40% of all jobs lost.

“Even with the progress made with vaccinations, it is far from clear when travel demand will be able to rebound on its own. The outlook will remain dire for travel businesses and workers without substantial policy assistance from Washington to shorten the recovery period and bring back jobs as quickly as possible.”