Research
September 05, 2025
Total restaurant industry jobs
Restaurants added 11k jobs in August
Restaurant staffing levels plateaued in recent months, even as the overall demand for labor remained relatively firm.
Eating and drinking places* added a net 11,000 jobs in August on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That followed a 2-month period in which payrolls were essentially flat, as July’s increase (+5,800) was offset by losses in June (-5,900).
Restaurant staffing levels were essentially flat during the first 8 months of 2025, with fewer than 13,000 jobs added year-to-date. That followed more than 4 years of significant growth, during which restaurants added nearly 6.1 million jobs to fully recover from the pandemic-induced losses.
Other economic indicators continue to suggest that the recent plateau in restaurant employment is not driven by reduced demand for employees on the part of operators. Indeed, the hospitality sector hired more than 800,000 workers during each of the last 4 months, after topping that level only once during the previous 11 months.
Instead, the slowdown in job growth corresponded with an uptick in employees leaving their jobs. An average of 715,000 hospitality sector employees quit their jobs between May and July, which was 150,000 higher than the average number of quits during the previous 12 months.
Even with the uneven employment readings during the last several months, the size of the restaurant workforce remained above pre-pandemic levels. As of August 2025, eating and drinking place employment was nearly 93,000 jobs (or 0.8%) above its February 2020 levels.
Fullservice segment remains 222k jobs below pre-pandemic levels
Within the restaurant industry, the limited-service segments continue to lead the way in terms of job growth.
The coffee and snack segment has led the way throughout the recovery from pandemic-induced job losses. As of July 2025, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 179,000 jobs (or 22%) above February 2020 readings.
Employee counts at quickservice and fast casual restaurants were 105,000 jobs (or 2.3%) above pre-pandemic levels.
In contrast, fullservice restaurant employment levels remained 222,000 jobs (or 4%) below pre-pandemic readings, as of July 2025.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so July 2025 is the most current data available.]
Restaurant job growth uneven across states
More than 5 years after the onset of the pandemic in the U.S., restaurant staffing levels remain below pre-pandemic readings in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
This group was led by Massachusetts and West Virginia, which had about 5% fewer eating and drinking place jobs in the second quarter of 2025 than they did in the second quarter of 2019. Maryland (-4%), Illinois (-3%), California (-3%), Vermont (-3%) and Michigan (-3%) were also well below their pre-pandemic restaurant employment levels.
In contrast, restaurant employment in several of the mountain states has climbed well beyond pre-pandemic levels. This group is led by Idaho (+17%), Utah (+15%), South Dakota (+14%) and Nevada (+13%).
[Note that the state-level analysis uses 2019 as the pre-pandemic comparison instead of February 2020, because seasonally-adjusted employment figures are not available for every state.]
View the latest employment data for every state.
Note: 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 more than 15.7 million.
Track more economic indicators and read more analysis and commentary from the Association's economists.
Eating and drinking places* added a net 11,000 jobs in August on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That followed a 2-month period in which payrolls were essentially flat, as July’s increase (+5,800) was offset by losses in June (-5,900).
Restaurant staffing levels were essentially flat during the first 8 months of 2025, with fewer than 13,000 jobs added year-to-date. That followed more than 4 years of significant growth, during which restaurants added nearly 6.1 million jobs to fully recover from the pandemic-induced losses.
Other economic indicators continue to suggest that the recent plateau in restaurant employment is not driven by reduced demand for employees on the part of operators. Indeed, the hospitality sector hired more than 800,000 workers during each of the last 4 months, after topping that level only once during the previous 11 months.
Instead, the slowdown in job growth corresponded with an uptick in employees leaving their jobs. An average of 715,000 hospitality sector employees quit their jobs between May and July, which was 150,000 higher than the average number of quits during the previous 12 months.
Even with the uneven employment readings during the last several months, the size of the restaurant workforce remained above pre-pandemic levels. As of August 2025, eating and drinking place employment was nearly 93,000 jobs (or 0.8%) above its February 2020 levels.
Fullservice segment remains 222k jobs below pre-pandemic levels
Within the restaurant industry, the limited-service segments continue to lead the way in terms of job growth.
The coffee and snack segment has led the way throughout the recovery from pandemic-induced job losses. As of July 2025, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 179,000 jobs (or 22%) above February 2020 readings.
Employee counts at quickservice and fast casual restaurants were 105,000 jobs (or 2.3%) above pre-pandemic levels.
In contrast, fullservice restaurant employment levels remained 222,000 jobs (or 4%) below pre-pandemic readings, as of July 2025.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so July 2025 is the most current data available.]
Restaurant job growth uneven across states
More than 5 years after the onset of the pandemic in the U.S., restaurant staffing levels remain below pre-pandemic readings in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
This group was led by Massachusetts and West Virginia, which had about 5% fewer eating and drinking place jobs in the second quarter of 2025 than they did in the second quarter of 2019. Maryland (-4%), Illinois (-3%), California (-3%), Vermont (-3%) and Michigan (-3%) were also well below their pre-pandemic restaurant employment levels.
In contrast, restaurant employment in several of the mountain states has climbed well beyond pre-pandemic levels. This group is led by Idaho (+17%), Utah (+15%), South Dakota (+14%) and Nevada (+13%).
[Note that the state-level analysis uses 2019 as the pre-pandemic comparison instead of February 2020, because seasonally-adjusted employment figures are not available for every state.]
View the latest employment data for every state.
Note: 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 more than 15.7 million.
Track more economic indicators and read more analysis and commentary from the Association's economists.