Call it a slow, incremental comeback. Hotels in the United States added 700 jobs in June, but that is still nearly 200,000 jobs behind pre-pandemic levels, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
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 the total number of hotel jobs in the country, eliminating job gains for the industry 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. The reason is the nationwide workforce shortage,
which is preventing hoteliers from meeting their full potential as demand for
travel remains strong,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey.
“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.”
Since the pandemic, average hotel wages have increased more than 15 percent faster than average salaries throughout the general economy. Despite these increases, there are currently tens of thousands of open hotel jobs in the U.S., according to Indeed.
AHLA is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to expand the workforce by making available nearly 65,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas as soon as possible, under the authority Congress gave it as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The majority
of U.S. hotels are in the same predicament.
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