Hospitality Worker Shortage, US Travel Partners looking outward to fill gap  

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer  

#USA, April 13, 2023 – A significant dip in hospitality job recruiting on the cusp of a booming season is leading US Tourism partners to call for more migrant workers.  The US Travel Association has expressed concern over the unusually low monthly recruitment levels which saw only 72,000 jobs being added to the sector, a 25 percent drop off the usual monthly average of 95,000.

“The drop-off in leisure and hospitality hiring reported today is a concern as our industry prepares for the busy summer season and the need to fill 1.5 million open jobs in this sector,” said Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association President and CEO.

Freeman is now calling on the Government to increase the number of migrant workers available in the workforce.

“An adequately resourced travel workforce is essential to meeting demand and growing revenue in the travel industry. The Federal Government can help solve staffing needs by increasing the cap on H-2B temporary worker visas and permanently exempting returning workers from the cap,” he said.

Many hospitality workers in the Caribbean take advantage of the potential for higher income available in the US on H-2B visas, draining their home countries of workers just as they have forecast also experiencing a boom in tourism bookings.

On the tail end of COVID-19, many people are expected to satiate their appetite for travel this summer, but the US unemployment rate is expected to rise as the Federal Reserve continues aggressive rate hikes to curb inflation.