The World Cup Was Supposed to Create Thousands of Jobs. Did It?

With the World Cup drawing to a close, it is a good time to ask whether the tournament delivered the economic benefits promised to its host cities. Major sporting events are often presented as catalysts for local growth, prompting cities to invest in infrastructure while preparing for an influx of athletes and visitors. A study commissioned by FIFA and the World Trade Organization estimated that the 2026 World Cup could support 185,000 full-time-equivalent jobs, led by accommodation and food services, followed by air transportation.[1] Most of these positions were expected to be temporary. Even so, 185,000 jobs would represent a meaningful boost for a U.S. labor market that showed little momentum in 2025.

Did Host Cities Actually Hire More?

A recent pickup in hiring, particularly in leisure and hospitality, has therefore been cited as evidence that the World Cup lifted employment.[2] But if the tournament was responsible for the stronger hiring, demand for workers in World Cup-related occupations should have risen faster in the 11 U.S. host cities than elsewhere. Yet our analysis of real-time job postings finds no such acceleration: hiring demand in host cities followed much the same pattern as demand in non-host cities.[3]

Why Didn't Hiring Match the Predictions?

This finding is consistent with evidence from the hotel industry. According to CoStar, revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 25.9% in the week ending June 27. However, occupancy on non-game nights fell by 3.1 percentage points, suggesting that higher room rates—not a broad increase in stays—drove much of the improvement.[1] The pattern also suggests that many soccer fans made relatively short trips and that domestic visitors accounted for a larger share of attendance than initially expected. Higher airfares, visa delays, and geopolitical tensions may have discouraged international travel, while some typical domestic leisure travelers likely avoided host cities because of higher prices and anticipated crowds.

The Real Story Was Hidden Beneath the Surface

The job-posting data do, however, reveal a more nuanced and encouraging story. Rather than deciding in advance which occupations should benefit from the tournament, we allowed employers’ postings to identify the jobs most directly connected to it. For each host city, we examined postings that explicitly mentioned “FIFA” or the “World Cup.”[5] Two findings stand out:

First, World Cup-related hiring varied considerably across the 11 host cities, with New York and Miami recording the largest numbers of postings.

Second, contrary to the common assumption that the tournament would primarily create restaurant, hotel, and retail jobs, most World Cup-related postings were for management, business, and financial occupations. These fields accounted for more than half of all postings, while food service and sales occupations represented fewer than 15%. That distinction matters: management, business, and financial occupations generally offer substantially higher wages than food service and sales positions.

*Visual leverages JobsEQ data from 1/5/2025-6/24/2026

The Jobs Were Different Than Expected

Taken together, the evidence suggests that the World Cup did not generate a broad, easily detectable surge in hiring across host-city labor markets. Its employment effects appear to have differed from the headline projections. The tournament may still have created valuable opportunities, but those opportunities were concentrated in occupations tied to planning, administration, IT, media, and event operations rather than in the frontline hospitality and retail jobs most observers expected.

Why This Matters

The broader lesson extends well beyond the World Cup. Large economic announcements—whether they're tied to sporting events, new manufacturing plants, corporate expansions, or public investments—often generate impressive job forecasts. But understanding their real impact requires looking beyond projections to the labor market itself. Real-time hiring data can reveal not only whether new jobs materialize, but also where they emerge, which occupations benefit, and whether those opportunities align with expectations.

For economic developers, workforce planners, educators, and business leaders, that's the difference between relying on assumptions and making decisions based on evidence. The real value isn't just knowing how many jobs were promised; it's understanding which jobs actually appeared and what that means for the local economy. 

[1] https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/152f754a8e1b3727/original/FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Socioeconomic-impact-analysis.pdf

[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-05/world-cup-likely-gave-a-lift-to-blowout-us-canada-jobs-numbers

[3] Sportive event-related occupations include: Retail Salespersons; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers; Stockers and Order Fillers; First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers; Security Guards; Fast Food and Counter Workers; Customer Service Representatives; Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners; Cooks, Restaurant; Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners; Waiters and Waitresses; Cashiers; Baristas; Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers; Food Service Managers; Dishwashers; Bartenders; Coaches and Scouts; Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks; Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners; Parking Attendants; Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs; Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers; Producers and Directors; Audio and Video Technicians; Interpreters and Translators; Facilities Managers; Public Relations Managers; Public Safety Telecommunicators; Paramedics; Lodging Managers; Customs and Border Protection Officers; Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks; News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists; Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film; Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity; Tour Guides and Escorts; Broadcast Technicians; Taxi Drivers; Flight Attendants; Athletes and Sports Competitors

[4] https://www.costar.com/article/1466462996/world-cup-fuels-record-us-hotel-rates-as-demand-shifts-beyond-host-cities

[5] The analysis was restricted to job ads citing “FIFA” or “World Cup” in the text of the post. We excluded the health care sector to reduce the risk of false positives.