While many industries across the United States have experienced growth in recent months, the travel industry has been suffering, according to recent reports.
While the economy grew by 148,000 jobs in September, travel employers lost 2,800 jobs in the same period. Lodging, amusement, gambling, recreation and food and drink services all saw losses. The only segment of the industry that escaped the downturn was transportation, according to the report from Successful Meetings.
Despite September's poor turnout, the travel industry saw almost half a million jobs added in the past three years, outpacing every other aspect of the economy. One expert told the news source that travel has seen 88 percent of its jobs that were lost during the recession having been recovered, while all other sectors have only seen averages of about 80 percent.
The recent government shutdown was also a factor that harmed the industry. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, it caused industry losses of more than $152 million every day, which without a doubt affected industry employment. In addition, two-thirds of business traveler industry professionals were concerned about a shutdown negatively impacting their business, while 40 percent said they were directly impacted by the shutdown itself.