Research
September 30, 2025
Restaurant Job Openings
Restaurant and lodging job openings remained solid as hiring has slowed
Job openings in the restaurant and lodging sector rose from 880,000 in July to 986,000 in August, marking the highest level in three months. Over the first eight months of 2025, openings averaged 893,000, underscoring steady demand for labor in the accommodation and foodservices industry—perhaps surprisingly resilient given broader economic uncertainties.
However, signs of labor market softening are more evident in the hiring and separations data. Hiring fell to 748,000 in August, a five-month low, while total separations declined to 686,000—the lowest since October 2020. As a result, net hiring rebounded to 62,000 in August, following net declines in the previous two months.
Despite the positive net hiring figure, the broader trend points to weaker labor market dynamics. The hiring rate in the accommodation and foodservice sector in August stood at 5.2%, down notably from the 7.0% average seen during 2022 and 2023. This suggests that while job postings remain elevated, actual workforce expansion in the sector is proceeding at a more cautious pace.
This shift reflects a broader transition from the “Great Resignation” to the “Great Stay,” as economic uncertainty has made workers less inclined to voluntarily leave their jobs. The recent decline is particularly notable given the elevated quit levels earlier in the year. Still, the average number of quits over the past six months was 641,000, which is close to the pre-pandemic (2017–2019) average, suggesting a degree of stabilization in worker behavior.
More broadly, quits across all nonfarm sectors fell from 3.17 million in July to 3.09 million in August, reaching a nine-month low. The national quit level now sits just below the pre-pandemic average of 3.34 million, pointing to a return to more typical labor market dynamics.
For perspective, the labor market was considerably tighter in July 2021, when job openings outnumbered unemployed individuals by nearly 2-to-1. At that time, there were just 49.7 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings, with a surplus of more than 5.84 million job postings relative to job seekers.
Taken together, these figures suggest that while the labor market remains fundamentally solid, it is gradually softening and normalizing toward pre-pandemic conditions
However, signs of labor market softening are more evident in the hiring and separations data. Hiring fell to 748,000 in August, a five-month low, while total separations declined to 686,000—the lowest since October 2020. As a result, net hiring rebounded to 62,000 in August, following net declines in the previous two months.
Despite the positive net hiring figure, the broader trend points to weaker labor market dynamics. The hiring rate in the accommodation and foodservice sector in August stood at 5.2%, down notably from the 7.0% average seen during 2022 and 2023. This suggests that while job postings remain elevated, actual workforce expansion in the sector is proceeding at a more cautious pace.
This shift reflects a broader transition from the “Great Resignation” to the “Great Stay,” as economic uncertainty has made workers less inclined to voluntarily leave their jobs. The recent decline is particularly notable given the elevated quit levels earlier in the year. Still, the average number of quits over the past six months was 641,000, which is close to the pre-pandemic (2017–2019) average, suggesting a degree of stabilization in worker behavior.
More broadly, quits across all nonfarm sectors fell from 3.17 million in July to 3.09 million in August, reaching a nine-month low. The national quit level now sits just below the pre-pandemic average of 3.34 million, pointing to a return to more typical labor market dynamics.
For perspective, the labor market was considerably tighter in July 2021, when job openings outnumbered unemployed individuals by nearly 2-to-1. At that time, there were just 49.7 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings, with a surplus of more than 5.84 million job postings relative to job seekers.
Taken together, these figures suggest that while the labor market remains fundamentally solid, it is gradually softening and normalizing toward pre-pandemic conditions
