U.S. hotels added 700 jobs to their payrolls in June, according to the latest government data that shows the nationwide workforce shortage continues to make it difficult for hotels to fill open jobs.
Total hotel employment stands at about 1.92 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s more than 196,000 fewer workers in the industry than in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit, a shortfall that reflects the scarcity of available employees.
BLS also revised down the total number of hotel jobs in the country, which eliminated job gains for the industry that were reported in prior months.
“Halfway through 2024, the hotel industry is behind where it needs to be when it comes to hiring staff, despite near-record high wages and expanding workplace benefits and flexibility,” said Kevin Carey, interim president/CEO, AHLA. “The reason is the nationwide workforce shortage, which is preventing hoteliers from meeting their full potential as demand for travel remains strong. Both Congress and the administration can provide relief to our members, many of whom are small business owners, and AHLA will continue to call for action to expand the pool of available workers.”
Hotels continue to offer increased wages, benefits and workplace flexibility to attract and retain workers in the face of a nationwide workforce shortage:
- Since the pandemic, average hotel wages (+26.0%) have increased more than 15% faster than average wages throughout the general economy (+22.2%).
- Despite these increases, there are currently tens of thousands of open hotel jobs in the U.S., according to Indeed.
As of May, there were 8.1 million job openings in the U.S. and only 6.6 million unemployed people to fill those jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
