U.S. Hospitality Jobs Plummet Amid Disappointing World Cup Bump: BLS Report
By Amanda Schiavo July 2, 2026 12:24 pm
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The U.S. men’s soccer team might’ve taken the win last night, but a June jobs report just out from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tells a different story.
Outlooks were positive following last month’s jobs report that jobs in the hospitality and leisure sectors would thrive amid an expected boom in tourism from the 2026 World Cup. However, according to BLS’s new report released Thursday, the number of jobs in those sectors declined by 61,000 in June, “reflecting weaker than usual seasonal hiring.”
If the way the Scots took over Boston for the 2026 World Cup was the only criteria, it’d be a safe bet that the hospitality industry across the country would thrive during the much-anticipated soccer tournament, which is being hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
However, returns on World Cup hotel bookings in the New York area have been less than stellar, with matches at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on track to generate between $100 million and $150 million for hotels in New York City, roughly half of what the Hotel Association of New York City initially estimated. While the city’s hotel industry did experience an occupancy rate of more than 90 percent in June, the association attributed it to the playoff run and ultimate championship win by the New York Knicks, not the World Cup.
All told, the hiring slowdown in hospitality and leisure was the biggest decline in those sectors since 2020, Bloomberg reported.
Overall in June, the economy added just 57,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, a sharp decline from the 129,000 jobs added in May. In June, the May figure was revised down by 43,000, meaning it is now lower than the previously reported BLS figure of 172,000 jobs added in May. BLS also revised the April jobs figures down by 31,000 jobs.
The strongest job sectors for hiring in June were health care and social assistance, the report noted.
Overall participation in the labor force also dropped by 0.3 percentage points to 61.5 percent in June, the BLS noted, while the employment-population ratio “edged down” by 0.2 percentage points to 59 percent.
The unemployment rate in June was steady at 4.2 percent, compared to 4.3 percent for May. Some 7.1 million people were unemployed in June.
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
