Through most of the economic recovery, wage growth has hovered around 2 percent annually. But in the last few months, it has started to tick up. It hit 2.5 percent in December, thanks largely to the 5 percent unemployment rate (on average 284,000 jobs were added to U.S. payrolls in the last three months of 2015). While the external factor that will continue to have the greatest influence on labor costs this year is the continuing decline in the national unemployment rate, the lodging industry for one has slowed down turnover rates and retained good labor by providing significant opportunities for upward mobility, according to a new WageWatch study published in partnership with AH&LA. The study found that people who started their careers in the lodging industry tend to stay, finding new opportunities and high job satisfaction. According to the report, half or more of corporate executives began their hotel career in hourly entry-level positions and more than half of hotel general managers did the same. Click here to read more.
