Travel booking jobs declined slightly in June, according to the latest Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the BLS, the sector lost approximately 500 jobs in June, the latest month for which data is available. Year over year, the sector was down 800 jobs as well.
The picture was brighter for the leisure and hospitality industry. According to the latest BLS report, the leisure and hospitality sector added 25,000 jobs in the month of June, up 261,000 from the same time last year.
The decline in travel booking jobs follows a flat month for the sector in May. The sector has also seen declines in March, before which it had posted a four-month run of job gains that started in December as the travel industry began to recover from the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Leisure and hospitality jobs have also been steadily climbing during the same period.
Looking ahead, signs point to a slight slowdown in growth for the travel industry ahead. According to the latest Portrait of American Travelers study from MMGY Global, the overall number of trips travelers take is set to decline. Spending on individual getaways is set to grow as customers take longer trips, however, leading to a flat spending picture overall.
Summer travel, however, continues to be a bright spot. This year’s Fourth of July travel period was another record-setter, according to the latest data from AAA, with 46.9 million Americans planning a getaway.
Overall, the economy added 213,000 jobs in June, according to the BLS report, mainly in professional and business services, manufacturing and health care. Retail trade lost jobs. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 4.0 percent.
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