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Employment in leisure and hospitality up by 331,000 in April 2021

May 11, 2021

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 266,000 in April 2021, following increases of 770,000 in March and 536,000 in February. In April, nonfarm employment is down by 8.2 million from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 331,000, as pandemic-related restrictions continued to ease in many parts of the country. Employment in the industry is down by 2.8 million since February 2020.

Change in nonfarm employment by industry, April 2021
Industry Change since Mar. 2021 Change since Feb. 2020

Mining and logging

2,000 -75,000

Construction

0 -196,000

Manufacturing

-18,000 -515,000

Wholesale trade

7,800 -227,700

Retail trade

-15,300 -399,600

Transportation and warehousing

-74,100 -142,000

Utilities

400 -7,000

Information

1,000 -227,000

Financial activities

19,000 -63,000

Professional and business services

-79,000 -748,000

Education and health services

-1,000 -1,170,000

Leisure and hospitality

331,000 -2,848,000

Other services

44,000 -352,000

Government

48,000 -1,244,000

In April, employment increased by 44,000 in the other services industry, with gains in repair and maintenance (+14,000) and personal and laundry services (+14,000). Employment in other services is 352,000 below its February 2020 level.

Employment in financial activities rose by 19,000 for the month ended April 2021, with most of the gain occurring in real estate and rental and leasing (+17,000). Since February 2020, employment in financial activities is down by 63,000.

Manufacturing employment edged down in April (−18,000), following gains in the previous 2 months (+54,000 in March and +35,000 in February). Employment in
manufacturing is 515,000 lower than in February 2020.

Retail trade employment changed little in April (−15,000), following a gain in the prior month (+33,000). Employment in retail trade is 400,000 lower than in February 2020. In April, employment changed little in other major industries, including mining, wholesale trade, and information.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — April 2021." Also see more charts of national employment, hours, and earnings data and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the April data.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment in leisure and hospitality up by 331,000 in April 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/employment-in-leisure-and-hospitality-up-by-331000-in-april-2021.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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