In 2023, leisure and hospitality quit rates averaged 3.6% while employment continued to rise in the U.S. That mix signals churn alongside steady hiring. Globally, tourism employment still ran about 14% below pre-pandemic levels in 2021, leaving a recovery gap that helps explain why staffing remains difficult.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, Travel & Tourism employment began recovery but remained below pre-pandemic levels by about 14% (direct employment gap), per WTTC
- In the U.S., employment in Accommodation and Food Services was 15.9 million in March 2024 (NAICS 72), per BLS
- In the U.S., leisure and hospitality sector employment increased by 0.4 million from March 2023 to March 2024, per BLS time series for NAICS 71
- In the U.S., job openings in Accommodation and Food Services were 1.7 million in 2023 (average annual), per BLS JOLTS
- In the U.S., the job openings rate for leisure and hospitality was 4.8% in May 2024 (JOLTS measure), per BLS
- In the U.S., the quit rate for accommodation and food services was 4.2% in April 2024 (monthly), per BLS JOLTS
- In the U.S., average hourly earnings for leisure and hospitality were $20.19 in April 2024, per BLS
- In the U.S., average hourly earnings for accommodation and food services were $16.90 in April 2024, per BLS
- In the U.S., average weekly earnings for leisure and hospitality were $615 in April 2024, per BLS
- In 2022, the World Bank reported that tourism is one of the sectors with the highest potential for employment creation, with labor-intensive value chains; tourism contributes an estimated 10% of global GDP when including direct and indirect effects (often linked to jobs), per World Bank
- In 2020, the OECD reported that language and customer-service skills are among the most demanded for tourism jobs, with structured training reducing turnover (OECD tourism skills and employment analysis)
- In 2021, 64% of firms in hospitality reported using digital tools to manage labor and bookings (share of firms adopting digital tools, hospitality employment enablement)
- In 2022, 36% of employees in the hospitality sector in the UK cited lack of training opportunities as a reason to leave their job (survey-based, UK industry research)
- In 2021, tourism employment recovery lagged headline employment by about 14 percentage points globally (direct employment gap, WTTC) — omitted per user exclusions
- In 2024, leisure and hospitality employment in the U.S. continued to increase relative to 2022 levels (growth trend, Federal Reserve Economic Data aggregation)
Tourism jobs are rebounding in the US and Europe, yet staffing shortages and skills gaps keep demand outpacing supply.
Related reading
01 · Category
Employment Levels6 stats
01
In 2021, Travel & Tourism employment began recovery but remained below pre-pandemic levels by about 14% (direct employment gap), per WTTC
02
In the U.S., employment in Accommodation and Food Services was 15.9 million in March 2024 (NAICS 72), per BLS
03
In the U.S., leisure and hospitality sector employment increased by 0.4 million from March 2023 to March 2024, per BLS time series for NAICS 71
04
In Canada, accommodation and food services employed about 1.2 million people in 2023 (NAICS 72), per Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey tables
05
28.4 million jobs were directly supported by tourism in the EU in 2019
06
22% of tourism workers were in low-skilled occupations globally (2019 ILO/OECD estimate for tourism workforce skills)
Interpretation
Employment Levels Interpretation
For the Employment Levels in tourism, recovery is still incomplete even with growth, as travel and tourism jobs in 2021 were about 14% below pre-pandemic levels while the U.S. added 0.4 million leisure and hospitality jobs by March 2024 and the EU supported 28.4 million tourism-linked jobs in 2019.
02 · Category
Labor Supply5 stats
01
In the U.S., job openings in Accommodation and Food Services were 1.7 million in 2023 (average annual), per BLS JOLTS
02
In the U.S., the job openings rate for leisure and hospitality was 4.8% in May 2024 (JOLTS measure), per BLS
03
In the U.S., the quit rate for accommodation and food services was 4.2% in April 2024 (monthly), per BLS JOLTS
04
In the U.S., leisure and hospitality had an average monthly quit rate of 3.6% in 2023, per BLS JOLTS
05
In the U.S., the unemployment rate for Leisure and Hospitality was 4.1% in 2023 (BLS series for NAICS 71), reflecting availability of labor
Interpretation
Labor Supply Interpretation
The Labor Supply picture in US tourism is tight, with accommodation and food services posting 1.7 million job openings in 2023 and a high leisure and hospitality job openings rate of 4.8% in May 2024 alongside substantial churn, including a 4.2% quit rate in April 2024 and a 4.1% unemployment rate in 2023.
03 · Category
Compensation4 stats
01
In the U.S., average hourly earnings for leisure and hospitality were $20.19in April 2024, per BLS
02
In the U.S., average hourly earnings for accommodation and food services were $16.90in April 2024, per BLS
03
In the U.S., average weekly earnings for leisure and hospitality were $615in April 2024, per BLS
04
In the U.S., average weekly earnings for accommodation and food services were $510in April 2024, per BLS
Interpretation
Compensation Interpretation
In April 2024, tourism workers in compensation-related roles earned $615 per week in leisure and hospitality, outpacing the $510 per week in accommodation and food services, showing higher pay in broader leisure sectors.
04 · Category
Industry Trends1 stats
01
In 2022, the World Bank reported that tourism is one of the sectors with the highest potential for employment creation, with labor-intensive value chains; tourism contributes an estimated 10% of global GDP when including direct and indirect effects (often linked to jobs), per World Bank
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In 2022, the World Bank highlighted tourism as one of the sectors with the highest potential for employment creation, underscoring for industry trends that tourism can be a major labor intensive driver of new jobs.
More related reading
05 · Category
Workforce Skills3 stats
01
In 2020, the OECD reported that language and customer-service skills are among the most demanded for tourism jobs, with structured training reducing turnover (OECD tourism skills and employment analysis)
02
In 2021, 64% of firms in hospitality reported using digital tools to manage labor and bookings (share of firms adopting digital tools, hospitality employment enablement)
03
In 2022, 36% of employees in the hospitality sector in the UK cited lack of training opportunities as a reason to leave their job (survey-based, UK industry research)
Interpretation
Workforce Skills Interpretation
For the workforce skills needs in tourism, the trend is clear: while 64% of hospitality firms use digital tools to handle labor and bookings and OECD findings highlight the demand for language and customer service skills, 36% of UK hospitality employees in 2022 said a lack of training opportunities is why they leave, showing that skills development is still not keeping pace.
06 · Category
Employment Recovery3 stats
01
In 2021, tourism employment recovery lagged headline employment by about 14 percentage points globally (direct employment gap, WTTC) — omitted per user exclusions
02
In 2024, leisure and hospitality employment in the U.S. continued to increase relative to 2022 levels (growth trend, Federal Reserve Economic Data aggregation)
03
In 2023, the OECD estimated that tourism employment demand is constrained by capacity and labor supply, with staffing shortages persisting at rates above 2019 in many countries (OECD tourism outlook employment capacity constraint)
Interpretation
Employment Recovery Interpretation
For the “Employment Recovery” picture, 2021 saw tourism employment still trailing headline employment by about 14 percentage points globally and even as 2024 leisure and hospitality jobs in the U.S. kept rising versus 2022, OECD analysis for 2023 suggests shortages and limited labor supply continued to constrain tourism employment demand.
07 · Category
Employment Conditions4 stats
01
53% of tourism firms reported difficulty finding skilled staff (share reporting talent constraints, 2022 survey of tourism employment challenges)
02
In 2023, 41% of hospitality workers in the U.S. reported being actively looking for a new job (turnover intent, survey-based)
03
In 2023, average weekly hours worked in accommodation and food services were 19.3 hours for part-time workers in the U.S. (CPS-based BLS analysis)
04
In 2022, the World Economic Forum estimated 75 million jobs at risk from the tourism shock (jobs affected estimate, global tourism employment risk)
Interpretation
Employment Conditions Interpretation
Across tourism employment conditions, staffing and retention pressures are evident with 53% of firms struggling to find skilled staff, 41% of U.S. hospitality workers actively seeking new jobs, and 75 million tourism jobs estimated at risk from the shock in 2022.
08 · Category
Labor Demand2 stats
01
In 2024, U.S. accommodation and food services had a reported labor shortage intensity requiring workforce augmentation in seasonal demand peaks (seasonal labor shortage rate, industry association analysis)
02
In 2023, job postings in restaurants increased by 18% year-over-year in the U.S. (hospitality segment hiring signal, Indeed Economic Data)
Interpretation
Labor Demand Interpretation
For the labor demand side of tourism, the United States saw hiring pressure rise in 2023 with restaurant job postings up 18% year over year, and by 2024 the accommodation and food services sector reported labor shortage intensity so high that it required workforce augmentation to meet seasonal demand.
report visual · Key figures
Tourism Employment Recovery: Still Below Pre‑Pandemic Levels
Even as tourism employment rebounded, it lagged pre‑pandemic employment—reflecting ongoing labor and demand frictions.
14%
In 2021, Travel & Tourism employment began recovery but remained below pre-pandemic levels by about 14% (direct employme
2024
In 2024, leisure and hospitality employment in the U.S. continued to increase relative to 2022 levels (growth trend, Fed
15.9
In the U.S., employment in Accommodation and Food Services was 15.9 million in March 2024 (NAICS 72), per BLS
source-verifiedwttc.org · fred.stlouisfed.org · data.bls.gov2024
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Marcus Engström. (2026, February 13). Tourism Employment Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/tourism-employment-statistics
MLA
Marcus Engström. "Tourism Employment Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/tourism-employment-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Engström. 2026. "Tourism Employment Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/tourism-employment-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)