by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:15 AM ET, Mon June 10, 2024
Hotels in the U.S. added 700 jobs this past May, a small jump that hardly makes an impact on the 191,500 workers that are needed in hotels across the country, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).
The nation’s hotels currently employ 1.92 million workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number is currently nearly 200,000 lower than it was in February 2020, prior to the pandemic.
Since then, hotels have gotten creative to attract more workers. Average hotel wages have increased around 26 percent, and have grown 21 percent faster than the average wages across the American economy. Additionally, hotels have begun offering better benefits, more flexibility and other perks to attract more employees.
AHLA continues calling on the Department of Homeland Security to expand the workforce through adding 65,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas. It also calls on Congress to to pass the Closing the Workforce Gap Act of 2024, which will create a new needs-based system for allocating the H-2B worker visa program, as well as a H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act, which would expand the labor certification period for visa holders to three years and authorize the waiver of in-person interviews for returning workers.
These new rules would greatly assist seasonal hotels and help fill the gap in employment that the hotel industry has been struggling with since the pandemic. AHLA has advocated for the changes for years.
Lastly, the AHLA also recommends the passing of the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, which would allow asylum seekers to be eligible for work authorizations 30 days after they apply for asylum. Currently, the rules disallow asylum seekers from working for at least six months, forcing them to rely on local governmental and community assistance.
“Hotels are ready to grow and create more jobs, but the nationwide workforce shortage that has persisted in the post-pandemic economy is preventing that from happening,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. “Congress and the administration can provide relief to hoteliers by taking a number of key steps to increase the pool of available workers. Those include expanding the number of H-2B visas, extending the certification period for H-2B employees, and making it easier for qualified asylum seekers to start working in the U.S.”
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