Travel Employment Rebounds in December, Ends 2011 on High Note

January 6, 2012

Washington, DC - David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, provides analysis on today’s Labor Department report on December 2011 employment numbers:

"December was a good month for the travel industry. After falling two of the three prior months, employment in the travel industry rebounded in December and rose by 7,000 to a level of 7,528,000.

"The travel industry accounted for seven percent of the 1.6 million jobs created during the past 12 months. Over the last year, the travel industry expanded its employment base by 119,000 - doubling the jobs created by construction and real estate industries combined.

"Supporting good-paying American jobs that cannot be outsourced abroad, the travel industry has created jobs at a faster rate (2.9%) than the rest of the economy (2%) since the overall employment recovery began in March of 2010. Increasing travel to and within the United States is a key ingredient to providing the job opportunities for the 13 million Americans who continue to be unemployed."

Huether is available for further analysis and comment.

Contact:
Cathy Keefe 202-408-2183

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $1.8 trillion in economic output and supports 14.1 million jobs. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within the United States.
Visit www.ustravel.org.