Leisure & hospitality shed 61,000 jobs in June despite expected World Cup boost

 WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 02: Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on June 2, 2026 in Washington, DC. Hassett spoke on various topics including President Trump’s nomination of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of National Intelligence. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The tourism boost from the World Cup was supposed to create tens of thousands of jobs. June employment data out Thursday revealed hiring fell short of even the most modest expectations.

White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett called the data "a little bit of a puzzle." (TNND)

The leisure and hospitality sector shed 61,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. Goldman Sachs economists forecasted the industry would lead a 40,000-job boost to the overall number of jobs created in June, which also disappointed: 57,000 versus the 115,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast.

White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett called the data "a little bit of a puzzle."

"The people who would be doing the travel and leisure support of all those fans who are in the country, somehow their employment went down. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to us," Hassett said.

EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco called the plunge in leisure and hospitality "the biggest black eye" in a lackluster report.

"The easiest way to sum it up is that the labor market is stuck in second gear. If it looks stable on the surface, it is certainly not reaccelerating. The low unemployment rate should be analyzed with caution and in combination with soft and concentrated job growth," Daco said.

The number of people participating in the workforce fell in June, bringing the unemployment rate down slightly to 4.2%.

"The labor force is aging and immigration policies have stymied a major source of continued labor force growth. These labor supply issues can act as a drag on the economy. Still, employers across industries have been adding jobs in 2026. There were 92,000 jobs added, on average, in each of the first six months of the year. There’s bound to be some fluctuations from month to month, so this past month’s slowing can be taken in stride until there is any additional evidence of trouble," said NerdWallet senior economist Elizabeth Renter.

The sector with the strongest growth in June was professional and business services, which added 36,000 jobs. Social assistance and health care also saw modest gains.