OMAHA- The latest from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment in Nebraska’s leisure and hospitality industry not only surpassed the pre-pandemic high earlier this year, but around March it exceeded 97,000 for the first time. The seasonally adjusted job count in leisure and hospitality — a “supersector” that includes arts, entertainment, recreation, lodging and food services — dipped a bit later but has been trending around the all-time high for the last few months.

This is seen as a milestone within the industry given the blow received from the Covid-19 pandemic. “This is the sector that took the biggest dive nationwide, so it’s a good mark for Nebraska,” said Michael Lucci, senior policy adviser of the Platte Institute of Nebraska. In the months following the onset of the pandemic, the industry lost 40,000 jobs just within Nebraska.

Lucci said Nebraska has performed 13th best nationally in terms of job growth in the leisure and hospitality market since the pandemic-induced plunge. He said 31 states have yet to get back to the employment levels they saw in those areas before March 2020. Not every sector has felt the same bounce as this industry according to Lucci. The state is in a good spot, but has many milestones yet to be achieved.

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