Research
November 20, 2025
Total restaurant industry jobs
Restaurants posted their strongest employment gain in 6 months
Restaurant job growth rediscovered some momentum in the third quarter – rebounding from a sluggish first half of the year.
Eating and drinking places* added a net 36,500 jobs in September on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That represented the strongest monthly employment increase in 6 months and the second-largest gain of the year thus far.
In total, restaurants added nearly 68,000 jobs in the third quarter, as the July and August readings were also revised higher. That was a solid improvement from the modest results during the first (-28,000) and second (+23,800) quarters of the year.
To be sure, restaurant job growth is still somewhat dampened in 2025 compared to recent years, but the slowdown was much less severe than the preliminary data suggested. The industry remains on pace to add more than 100k jobs during 2025, which would mark the fifth consecutive year above that level.
The third quarter’s acceleration in job growth pushed the size of the restaurant workforce further above pre-pandemic levels. As of September 2025, eating and drinking place employment was nearly 144,000 jobs (or 1.2%) above its February 2020 level.
Fullservice segment remains 212k jobs below pre-pandemic levels
Within the restaurant industry, the limited-service segments continue to set the pace in terms of job growth.
The coffee and snack segment has led the way throughout the recovery from pandemic-induced job losses. As of August 2025, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 184,000 jobs (or 23%) above February 2020 readings.
Employee counts at quickservice and fast casual restaurants were 107,000 jobs (or 2.4%) above pre-pandemic levels.
In contrast, fullservice restaurant employment levels remained 212,000 jobs (or 3.7%) below pre-pandemic readings, as of August 2025.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so August 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 36,500 jobs in September on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That represented the strongest monthly employment increase in 6 months and the second-largest gain of the year thus far.
In total, restaurants added nearly 68,000 jobs in the third quarter, as the July and August readings were also revised higher. That was a solid improvement from the modest results during the first (-28,000) and second (+23,800) quarters of the year.
To be sure, restaurant job growth is still somewhat dampened in 2025 compared to recent years, but the slowdown was much less severe than the preliminary data suggested. The industry remains on pace to add more than 100k jobs during 2025, which would mark the fifth consecutive year above that level.
The third quarter’s acceleration in job growth pushed the size of the restaurant workforce further above pre-pandemic levels. As of September 2025, eating and drinking place employment was nearly 144,000 jobs (or 1.2%) above its February 2020 level.
Fullservice segment remains 212k jobs below pre-pandemic levels
Within the restaurant industry, the limited-service segments continue to set the pace in terms of job growth.
The coffee and snack segment has led the way throughout the recovery from pandemic-induced job losses. As of August 2025, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 184,000 jobs (or 23%) above February 2020 readings.
Employee counts at quickservice and fast casual restaurants were 107,000 jobs (or 2.4%) above pre-pandemic levels.
In contrast, fullservice restaurant employment levels remained 212,000 jobs (or 3.7%) below pre-pandemic readings, as of August 2025.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so August 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.