US Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman issued the following statement regarding the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment report for February, in which leisure and hospitality jobs grew by 105,000 and the total economy added 311,000 jobs:
“Despite strong job growth, a staggering 1.7 million leisure and hospitality jobs are available, a worrying number as we approach the peak summer travel season. Travel is essential to our nation’s economy, but its success depends on access to workers to serve the traveling public.
“One way the federal government should address our labor shortage is to increase the H-2B visa allocation, which is short of demand by at least 100,000, to provide the industry with desperately needed temporary workers. ”.
