While the nation’s latest jobs numbers—reported on Friday, Aug. 3—revealed essentially no change at 8.3 unemployment for July, the travel industry has a different story to tell, according to David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association.
"The travel industry continues to be one of the prime drivers of the nation's economy, adding 9,200 new American jobs in July—the highest increase in four months—bringing total direct employment to 7,596,400.Travel job growth was mainly driven by increases in the restaurant and lodging sectors.
"In total, 63,700 jobs have been added to the U.S. travel industry, or an average of 9,100 jobs per month since January of this year, accounting for six percent of total non-farm jobs added this year.
"Since the employment recovery began, travel has created nearly 287,300 new jobs, contributing 7.2 percent of overall job growth since early 2010. The travel industry's job growth continues to outpace the growth the rest of the economy in employment recovery."