Career Outlook article page

Data on display
Summer surge: Strong-growth industries with seasonal employment spikes

Domingo Angeles | August 2018

For millions of people, summertime means enjoying activities such as attending outdoor performances, visiting amusement parks, or sightseeing. For millions of jobseekers, it means employment opportunity in the venues that serve these guests. And opportunities are expected to remain strong in these industries from 2016 to 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The chart illustrates selected industries that typically show employment increases in June, July, or August on a not seasonally adjusted basis over the past decade—even during the most recent recession. In each of these industries, employment dipped during winter months to reach its lowest level for the year in January or February. And their overall employment levels have rebounded from declines since the recession.

View Chart Data

Employment in selected industries, June 2007 to June 2017 (not seasonally adjusted)
Month and year	Food services and drinking places	Amusements, gambling, and recreation	Performing arts and spectator sports	Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions	Scenic and sightseeing transportation
Jun 2007	9,836,500	1,654,700	427,800	142,900	33,200
Jul 2007	9,818,800	1,694,400	425,000	146,600	37,000
Aug 2007	9,829,000	1,654,900	428,000	141,700	36,700
Sep 2007	9,696,800	1,482,000	415,900	134,400	33,500
Oct 2007	9,634,900	1,396,300	411,200	133,500	29,300
Nov 2007	9,596,900	1,314,300	400,900	127,600	26,700
Dec 2007	9,575,100	1,316,300	398,900	125,500	25,100
Jan 2008	9,339,100	1,278,800	367,800	121,300	22,200
Feb 2008	9,377,200	1,289,000	380,100	119,600	22,000
Mar 2008	9,493,500	1,328,200	385,000	124,000	23,100
Apr 2008	9,619,900	1,392,000	415,100	130,000	25,200
May 2008	9,762,400	1,491,500	429,800	139,100	29,800
Jun 2008	9,859,100	1,647,500	436,900	144,000	33,900
Jul 2008	9,847,200	1,687,900	434,800	146,900	36,200
Aug 2008	9,832,900	1,648,100	436,400	143,000	35,500
Sep 2008	9,655,200	1,465,300	411,800	132,300	31,800
Oct 2008	9,542,000	1,382,600	398,800	129,800	28,600
Nov 2008	9,451,100	1,291,200	385,200	125,900	24,500
Dec 2008	9,390,800	1,291,800	386,300	123,300	23,400
Jan 2009	9,156,400	1,251,000	365,100	118,700	21,000
Feb 2009	9,155,500	1,259,300	368,200	118,500	20,500
Mar 2009	9,260,400	1,282,400	375,400	120,200	20,900
Apr 2009	9,394,200	1,341,600	397,100	127,000	24,600
May 2009	9,584,100	1,438,800	417,900	136,300	29,900
Jun 2009	9,675,600	1,579,600	419,500	141,800	33,200
Jul 2009	9,649,800	1,633,200	431,500	143,800	36,800
Aug 2009	9,629,600	1,596,700	423,800	140,300	36,000
Sep 2009	9,454,600	1,450,100	411,900	131,800	32,800
Oct 2009	9,348,000	1,338,900	396,000	130,200	27,700
Nov 2009	9,279,400	1,253,900	380,100	123,800	23,700
Dec 2009	9,198,600	1,245,200	375,300	120,800	23,800
Jan 2010	8,987,900	1,209,700	349,700	115,400	19,900
Feb 2010	9,003,300	1,214,500	365,800	114,900	20,200
Mar 2010	9,159,400	1,251,100	369,900	119,300	20,700
Apr 2010	9,343,000	1,332,300	407,400	125,700	24,700
May 2010	9,506,100	1,420,100	430,800	132,900	29,500
Jun 2010	9,589,900	1,600,400	432,000	140,200	34,100
Jul 2010	9,566,200	1,646,900	449,400	143,800	36,000
Aug 2010	9,603,500	1,604,100	447,500	139,200	35,500
Sep 2010	9,519,400	1,444,100	446,500	130,300	33,000
Oct 2010	9,458,900	1,339,600	403,900	127,000	28,500
Nov 2010	9,403,300	1,247,900	387,400	122,800	23,600
Dec 2010	9,368,600	1,241,700	384,400	120,700	22,000
Jan 2011	9,132,100	1,198,800	349,900	116,500	19,300
Feb 2011	9,218,600	1,216,800	369,300	118,700	20,300
Mar 2011	9,396,300	1,262,100	378,300	122,700	21,700
Apr 2011	9,605,800	1,345,000	403,400	131,500	23,400
May 2011	9,768,700	1,434,700	406,800	136,300	30,900
Jun 2011	9,873,100	1,612,600	413,600	145,500	35,600
Jul 2011	9,835,500	1,665,300	417,300	148,100	36,700
Aug 2011	9,876,500	1,625,200	416,900	145,800	35,600
Sep 2011	9,770,600	1,452,900	420,200	134,600	32,400
Oct 2011	9,723,400	1,355,600	399,000	134,100	28,700
Nov 2011	9,714,200	1,269,300	382,700	129,800	23,600
Dec 2011	9,682,300	1,267,500	373,300	129,100	21,900
Jan 2012	9,467,400	1,243,000	356,400	123,700	19,300
Feb 2012	9,564,400	1,257,100	368,200	123,800	20,900
Mar 2012	9,754,800	1,311,200	388,000	128,800	22,800
Apr 2012	9,935,300	1,371,900	411,900	132,800	25,800
May 2012	10,102,100	1,467,600	422,600	138,700	29,100
Jun 2012	10,192,200	1,647,200	417,500	149,000	34,700
Jul 2012	10,165,700	1,698,100	423,800	148,900	35,500
Aug 2012	10,224,600	1,667,800	430,700	147,200	35,300
Sep 2012	10,145,300	1,479,000	420,000	138,800	33,200
Oct 2012	10,075,300	1,395,100	407,300	137,200	28,800
Nov 2012	10,030,400	1,313,600	389,900	132,900	25,700
Dec 2012	10,037,800	1,309,700	392,200	131,400	24,500
Jan 2013	9,809,500	1,277,900	364,300	126,400	20,500
Feb 2013	9,912,400	1,287,300	382,400	128,100	21,900
Mar 2013	10,076,600	1,339,700	402,100	133,300	23,600
Apr 2013	10,290,000	1,396,600	434,800	137,600	26,100
May 2013	10,490,600	1,517,300	439,900	144,500	31,100
Jun 2013	10,611,300	1,713,000	437,200	151,000	37,200
Jul 2013	10,619,100	1,756,900	432,500	151,900	37,500
Aug 2013	10,653,000	1,704,500	443,100	148,600	36,800
Sep 2013	10,521,900	1,510,500	430,700	143,200	34,200
Oct 2013	10,471,200	1,434,700	429,100	142,500	29,200
Nov 2013	10,448,800	1,346,400	421,800	139,500	25,900
Dec 2013	10,406,200	1,357,500	412,700	137,000	25,300
Jan 2014	10,187,800	1,327,100	389,400	132,300	22,800
Feb 2014	10,242,200	1,334,700	405,100	134,000	23,100
Mar 2014	10,434,200	1,368,500	421,000	138,000	24,500
Apr 2014	10,643,700	1,437,500	455,300	143,700	27,000
May 2014	10,845,100	1,566,600	467,700	153,100	33,800
Jun 2014	10,959,400	1,748,800	468,700	159,000	37,800
Jul 2014	10,931,400	1,803,100	464,800	160,400	39,600
Aug 2014	10,959,600	1,741,700	468,100	157,300	39,400
Sep 2014	10,845,400	1,550,400	460,700	148,600	35,500
Oct 2014	10,810,100	1,485,700	453,500	148,400	31,700
Nov 2014	10,765,500	1,396,300	436,000	145,100	26,300
Dec 2014	10,755,300	1,394,300	429,800	142,300	26,000
Jan 2015	10,526,600	1,358,700	393,500	137,700	24,000
Feb 2015	10,625,700	1,372,500	406,000	137,900	24,500
Mar 2015	10,765,400	1,410,400	428,900	142,900	25,100
Apr 2015	10,989,400	1,485,200	455,500	149,300	28,700
May 2015	11,177,000	1,622,800	482,800	157,300	35,100
Jun 2015	11,310,800	1,802,200	475,300	165,800	40,300
Jul 2015	11,310,900	1,853,900	476,500	169,000	42,700
Aug 2015	11,340,500	1,797,600	479,600	165,600	44,000
Sep 2015	11,228,000	1,615,300	469,600	157,000	40,400
Oct 2015	11,222,400	1,532,300	463,000	156,000	34,600
Nov 2015	11,178,700	1,458,900	438,400	149,200	28,400
Dec 2015	11,174,100	1,447,700	435,200	147,700	27,300
Jan 2016	10,953,700	1,409,500	399,600	142,100	24,300
Feb 2016	11,038,800	1,428,000	419,000	141,400	24,700
Mar 2016	11,196,800	1,480,300	438,900	148,600	26,300
Apr 2016	11,400,900	1,552,700	472,300	155,700	30,600
May 2016	11,582,900	1,668,700	477,200	165,900	36,700
Jun 2016	11,711,100	1,878,300	495,600	176,200	42,900
Jul 2016	11,674,800	1,936,200	506,900	178,700	46,400
Aug 2016	11,717,000	1,879,700	503,600	174,600	47,300
Sep 2016	11,594,100	1,674,200	487,600	162,400	42,000
Oct 2016	11,537,900	1,591,100	473,700	162,200	35,100
Nov 2016	11,494,300	1,530,500	453,000	153,900	28,600
Dec 2016	11,474,300	1,501,200	445,800	152,900	28,900
Jan 2017	11,212,100	1,462,100	420,000	146,900	24,700
Feb 2017	11,312,700	1,483,200	437,700	148,400	24,900
Mar 2017	11,477,400	1,515,700	452,000	152,600	27,000
Apr 2017	11,667,400	1,600,900	503,000	160,700	30,900
May 2017	11,876,100	1,711,900	519,600	172,100	39,400
Jun 2017	12,004,100	1,924,900	532,700	185,700	45,300
Note: Data are not seasonally adjusted in order to show cyclical movement. Seasonal adjustment eliminates the change in regularly recurring movement that is attributable to normal seasonal variation in the data. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

Industries shown in the chart are also among those projected to have solid long-term growth through 2026, either from rapid increases in employment or because of many new jobs. For example, employment in museums, historical sites, and similar institutions is projected to grow 26 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the 7-percent industry average for all wage and salary workers. And food services and drinking places is projected to add nearly 1.1 million jobs over the decade, the most new jobs of any industry.

Data in the chart are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, a monthly survey of businesses. CES produces estimates like these for the nation and for states and metropolitan areas. Projections data are from the BLS Employment Projections program.

Domingo Angeles is an economist in the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, BLS. He can be reached at angeles.domingo@bls.gov.

Suggested citation:

Domingo Angeles, "Summer surge: Strong-growth industries with seasonal employment spikes," Career Outlook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2018.

top bottom

Page Top Page Bottom

Career Outlook article page

Data on displaySummer surge: Strong-growth industries with seasonal employment spikes

Data on display
Summer surge: Strong-growth industries with seasonal employment spikes