Tourism workforce research: a review, taxonomy and agenda

•Workforce research is neglected in the top 8 T&H journals, rated by Impact Factor.•The term ‘workforce’ unifies the multiple levels at which research is conducted.•T&H workforce research is disjointed in topics, analysis, theory and method.•Tourism vs. hospitality research gives different treatment to workforce issues.•A multi-level model presents a contextual framework for future workforce research.