Restaurant Job Openings

The accommodation and foodservices sector reported 1,029,000 job openings in October, marking a sharp increase from a revised 867,000 in September and the highest level since March. While job opening data has fluctuated significantly in recent months, the latest figures underscore the labor market's resilience despite ongoing challenges. Year-to-date, job openings in the sector have averaged 907,000 per month, well above the 2017–2019 monthly average of 835,000.

However, the data also highlight a broader cooling in the labor market compared to recent years. In October, accommodation and foodservices businesses hired 697,000 workers, the lowest level in four months and a notable decline from the recent peak of 1,005,000 in September 2023.

Total separations in the sector rose slightly, from 678,000 in September to 702,000 in October. This resulted in net hiring—hires minus separations—falling to -5,000 in October, pulling back somewhat from the robust gains in August (65,000) and September (110,000).

The number of quits in the accommodation and food services sector increased from 529,000 in September to 619,000 in October, the highest level since April. Despite this rise, the broader trend reflects a sharp deceleration in quits. The sector averaged 787,000 quits in 2022 and 704,000 in 2023, signaling a significant decline in labor market churn over the past two years and marking the end of the “Great Resignation” era. Notably, quits in October remained well below the pre-pandemic average of 633,000 observed from 2017 to 2019.

Similarly, quits across all nonfarm payrolls rose from 3.10 million in September to 3.33 million in October, a five-month high. This figure is nearly identical to the pre-pandemic average of 3.34 million, further illustrating a return to more typical labor market dynamics.

Nonfarm business job openings across the broader economy climbed to 7.74 million in October, up from 7.37 million in September, rebounding somewhat after falling to the lowest level since January 2021. With 6.98 million individuals unemployed during the same period, there were approximately 90.2 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings.

While job openings continue to outnumber active job seekers by 760,000, the gap has narrowed considerably as the labor market has cooled. In December 2022, the ratio of job openings to unemployed individuals was nearly 2-to-1, with just 51.8 unemployed workers per 100 job openings and a surplus of more than 5.3 million job openings compared to available job seekers.