As of 2007, Locarno had an unemployment rate of 5.93%. As of 2005, there were 86 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 23 businesses involved in this sector. 2,385 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 158 businesses in this sector. 7,338 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 920 businesses in this sector. There were 6,688 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.6% of the workforce.
In 2000, there were 7,550 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,864 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 12.1% of the workforce coming into Locarno are coming from outside Switzerland, while none of the locals counted in the census, commute out of Switzerland for work.Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 44.1% used a private car.
As of 2009, there were 30 hotels in Locarno with a total of 777 rooms and 1,536 beds
