U.S. Hospitality industry sees job growth come to a halt, with little hope ahead

Signs of hope for workers in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality field all but disappeared in November, and their prospects for getting rehired grow bleaker by the month.

Friday's jobs report showed yet another slowdown in U.S. hiring, with 245,000 new jobs created in the lowest monthly total throughout the labor market recovery that began in May.

In hospitality, which faced the steepest losses in the spring and remains down by 3.4 million jobs compared with February, job growth was relatively flat. With the Covid pandemic surging, positive signs from a summer and fall hiring spree in the sector are harder to find.