Hospitality lost 13,000 jobs in a 165,000-job October, yet its pay rose 3.9%

The U.S. added 165,000 jobs in October, well above the 59,000 that economists expected, Stock Titan reported. Leisure and hospitality was not part of the gain. It lost 13,000 jobs, yet its workers earn about 3.9% more per hour than a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That mix matters for anyone who books or works events. Hospitality is paying more to hold roughly the same headcount as last year, which points to a squeeze on keeping people rather than a lack of demand. Event buyers and agencies should expect to compete on pay and reliability this holiday season.

The October gain stands out against recent history. BLS said payrolls grew by an average of 48,000 a month over the prior 12 months. A month at 165,000 is a sharp change from that pace, though October is preliminary. The 59,000 forecast it beat is one survey of economists, not a BLS number.

Hospitality slipped while the economy grew

BLS described leisure and hospitality employment as having "showed little change over the month." The tables show a small dip: 16.977 million jobs in September, 16.964 million in October. Over the full year the sector is up 16,000 jobs, or 0.1%, per Table B-1.

All three parts of the sector lost ground. Restaurants and bars lost the most, which matters because food service is where banquet servers, bartenders and catering crews are counted.

Compare like with like. Before seasonal adjustment, our calculation from the same table shows the sector fell by about 150,000 jobs from September to October as the summer season ended. That drop is normal. The adjusted figure is the one that shows how October compared with a typical October.

Pay keeps rising where the jobs are not

Average hourly earnings across all private employers rose 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $38.00 in October, and are up 3.1% from a year earlier, BLS Table B-3 shows. Leisure and hospitality pay rose to $23.90, up from $23.84 in September and about 3.9% above October 2025.

Faster raises have not closed a large gap. A server or event attendant can still earn far more per hour elsewhere. Stock Titan reported that health care added 42,000 jobs and professional and business services added 70,000, so hospitality competes for workers with sectors that are hiring.

BLS also revised August up by 53,000 and September up by 31,000, an 84,000 lift in all. The trend is firmer than earlier reports showed, which keeps the pressure on employers that need workers at peak times.

What it means for event hiring

This section is our read of the data, not a forecast. BLS does not publish event-specific demand, and agency workers may be counted under employment services rather than hospitality. What the report does show is flat headcount alongside rising pay.

For event staff: your shifts are worth more

The practical point for workers is leverage. In a month when the wider economy hired and hospitality did not, employers that run banquets, catering and hotel events have less room to lose people. A worker with a clean attendance record and a current alcohol-service or food-handler card can ask for more than the posted rate, or pick the shift that pays on time. Browse event jobs by role and city.

For hirers: rate cards set in spring may be stale

If you staff events in-house or through an agency, price December labor from current pay, not last year's. Retention counts more than recruiting volume, a point we made in last week's column, Hiring faster won't end the event staffing shortage. Keeping people will. Rebooking proven staff, paying on time and sharing schedules early all lower the cost of replacing someone mid-season.

Pay rises alone will not settle a roster. Workers weigh pay against schedule certainty, tips, travel and how a team treats them on a long shift. Event buyers who ask an agency how many of its staff are repeat workers, and how it handles no-shows, will learn more about December coverage than a rate sheet shows. With hospitality headcount flat from a year ago, a shift that goes unfilled is harder to replace on short notice.

For the earlier read on openings and holiday competition, see our September jobs report analysis.

Employment in leisure and hospitality "showed little change over the month."