Restaurant Job Openings

The accommodation and foodservices sector recorded 848,000 job openings in November, a decrease from the revised figure of 950,000 in October. Despite recent fluctuations, the data underscores the labor market's resilience amid persistent challenges. Year-to-date, job openings in this sector have averaged 895,000 per month, surpassing the 2017–2019 monthly average of 835,000. However, these figures also signal a broader cooling of the labor market compared to recent years, with job openings normalizing from post-pandemic peaks.

In November, businesses within accommodation and foodservices hired 791,000 workers—a three-month high, yet significantly below the recent peak of 1,005,000 in September 2023. Separations within the sector reached 774,000 in November, marking the highest level since April. This resulted in net hiring of 17,000 workers for the month, a recovery from October's net decline of 24,000.

Quits in the sector also showed a notable decline, dropping from 631,000 in October to 549,000 in November. This trend reflects a marked slowdown in labor market turnover. On average, quits in the sector were 787,000 in 2022 and 704,000 in 2023, indicating a significant easing from the turbulence of the “Great Resignation.” Additionally, November's quits figure remained below the pre-pandemic average of 633,000 from 2017 to 2019.

Across all nonfarm payrolls, quits fell from 3.28 million in October to 3.07 million in November—the lowest level since August 2020. Overall, quits in the U.S. economy have dipped below the pre-pandemic average of 3.34 million, reflecting a return to more typical labor market dynamic.

Nonfarm business job openings across the broader U.S. economy rose to 8.10 million in November, up from 7.84 million in October and the highest in six months. During the same period, the number of unemployed individuals stood at 7.15 million, equating to approximately 88.2 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings.

While job openings continue to outnumber active job seekers by 953,000, the gap has narrowed as the labor market has cooled. (At the same time, it has widened in the past two months.) The ratio of job openings to unemployed individuals was nearly 2-to-1 in December 2022, 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.