The hiring boom the FIFA World Cup was expected to bring to the US looks like it may not end up materializing after all.
Ahead of the June 11 kickoff of the soccer tournament, the first in the US since 1994, FIFA predictedthe events could create the equivalent of 185,000 full-time jobs, primarily in leisure and hospitality. Many Wall Street banks anticipated a smaller yet still-substantial boost.
Instead, the latest jobs report revealed any pickup in leisure and hospitality jobs in May was completely erased in June, leaving employment in the sector down by some 21,000 over the past two months.
The World Cup, a five-week event expected to bring more than a million fans to 11 US host cities from the New York City area to Los Angeles, was supposed to provide some relief this year for a tourism industry under pressure from President Donald Trump’s hardening of US borders and surging fuel costs sparked by the Iran war. But expensive accommodations and match tickets have raised concerns about the eventual boost.
“Geopolitical tensions, higher airfares and other barriers could have limited international travel for the World Cup, which is weighing on the amount of leisure and hospitality hiring needed,” said Eli Nir, a US economist at TD Securities.
