U.S. Restaurant Job Growth Was Choppy in Recent Months

Restaurant job growth settled back into a choppy trendline, as sharp downward revisions changed the previous narrative of a strong third quarter.

Eating and drinking places* added a net 3,700 jobs in October on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That was well below the increase of nearly 40,000 jobs in September – a reading that was nearly cut in half from last month’s preliminary report.  

August job growth was also revised significantly lower – from 37,500 to just 2,300. Taken together, the downward revisions in August and September resulted in 65,000 fewer jobs on restaurant payrolls.

Looking past the uneven month-to-month readings, the trendline of restaurant employment remains generally positive. As of October 2024, eating and drinking places were nearly 118,000 jobs (or 1.0%) above their February 2020 employment peak. 

Fullservice segment still down 234k jobs 

While the overall restaurant industry surpassed pre-pandemic employment levels, significant differences still exist by segment. 

The fullservice segment experienced the most job losses during the initial months of the pandemic – and it still has the longest path to recovery. As of September 2024, fullservice restaurant employment levels were 234,000 jobs (or 4%) below pre-pandemic readings in February 2020. 

Employment counts in the cafeterias/grill buffets/buffets segment (-33%) also remained below their February 2020 levels.

Job losses in the limited-service segments were somewhat less severe during the initial months of the pandemic, as these operations were more likely to retain staff to support their existing off-premises business. As of September 2024, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 137,000 jobs (or 17%) above February 2020 readings.

Staffing levels in the quickservice and fast casual segments were 156,000 jobs (or 3%) above pre-pandemic levels. Headcounts at bars and taverns were 35,000 jobs (or 8%) above the pre-pandemic peak.

[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so September is the most current data available.]

Restaurant job growth varies across the states

Restaurant employment trended higher in recent months, but the extent of the industry’s workforce recovery varies significantly by state. As of September 2024, 21 states and the District of Columbia had fewer eating and drinking place jobs than they did in September 2019. 

This group was led by Louisiana, which had 9% fewer eating and drinking place jobs in September 2024 than it did in September 2019. Maryland (-6%), Hawaii (-5%), Oregon (-5%), Illinois (-5%), Vermont (-5%) and North Dakota (-5%) and were also well below their pre-pandemic restaurant employment levels.

As of September 2024, eating and drinking place employment in 29 states surpassed their comparable pre-pandemic readings in September 2019. This group was led by Nevada (+12%), South Dakota (+12%), Utah (+12%) and Montana (+11%). 

View the latest employment data for every state.

[Note that the state-level analysis uses September 2019 as the pre-pandemic comparison instead of February 2020, because seasonally-adjusted employment figures are not available for every state.]

*Eating and drinking places are the primary component of the total restaurant and foodservice industry, providing jobs for roughly 80% of the total restaurant and foodservice workforce of 15.5 million.

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