U.S. Hotel Industry Unemployment Rate Dips Below 20 Percent for First Time Since March
Photo Credit: The U.S. hotel industry continues to struggle with job losses, despite an improved unemployment rate in December. Pixy / Holly Ireland
Skift Take
The hotel industry's improved unemployment rate is due more to people fleeing the sector (thus, fewer people unemployed) rather than jobs gained.
The U.S. hotel industry unemployment rate continues to fall — but not for any reason worth celebrating.
The hotel sector’s 18.9 percent December unemployment rate was a decline from the 21.5 percent seen in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. But the sector still lost 24,000 jobs — a sign more workers are giving up their search for a hotel job and no longer counted in the industry's labor pool.
The hotel industry unemployment rate continues to be significantly higher than the national average, which stayed flat at 6.7 percent for the month.
“We attribute this to the recent uptick in Covid cases and its continued negative impact on hotel visitation,�
