Research
January 10, 2025
Total restaurant industry jobs
Restaurants added more than 170k jobs during 2024.
Restaurant hiring finished 2024 on a positive note, with payrolls expanding by more than 50,000 during the final two months of the year. That capped off a year that was marked by choppy month-to-month readings, although the trendline continued to point generally higher.
Eating and drinking places* added a net 29,800 jobs in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That was up from an increase of 23,200 jobs in November, and represented just the second time all year that the sector added more than 20,000 jobs in consecutive months.
In total during calendar-year 2024, eating and drinking places added a net 172,500 jobs. That was only about half of the 309,000 jobs added during 2023, and it likely ushered in a period of more modest employment growth in the restaurant industry. That downshift followed nearly four years of catching up from pandemic-induced job losses.
Despite the slowdown in 2024, the industry workforce continued to expand beyond pre-pandemic levels. As of December 2024, eating and drinking places were more than 173,000 jobs (or 1.4%) above their February 2020 employment peak.
Fullservice segment still down 212k jobs
While overall restaurant employment surpassed pre-pandemic levels, significant differences still exist by segment.
The fullservice segment experienced the most job losses during the initial months of the pandemic – and it still has the longest path to recovery. As of November 2024, fullservice restaurant employment levels were 212,000 jobs (or 4%) below pre-pandemic readings in February 2020.
Employment counts in the cafeterias/grill buffets/buffets segment (-31%) also remained below their February 2020 levels.
Job losses in the limited-service segments were somewhat less severe during the initial months of the pandemic, as these operations were more likely to retain staff to support their existing off-premises business. As of November 2024, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 135,000 jobs (or 17%) above February 2020 readings.
Staffing levels in the quickservice and fast casual segments were 163,000 jobs (or 4%) above pre-pandemic levels. Headcounts at bars and taverns were 40,000 jobs (or 9%) above the pre-pandemic peak.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so November is the most current data available.]
Restaurant employment recovery uneven across states
Although restaurant employment trended higher on the national level in 2024, job growth remained uneven across the states. As of November 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia had fewer eating and drinking place jobs than they did in November 2019.
This group was led by North Dakota, which had 8% fewer eating and drinking place jobs in November 2024 than it did in November 2019. Maryland (-7%), Louisiana (-7%), West Virginia (-7%), Vermont (-6%) and Oregon (-6%) were also well below their pre-pandemic restaurant employment levels.
As of November 2024, eating and drinking place employment levels in 26 states were above their comparable pre-pandemic readings in November 2019. This group was led by Nevada (+12%), Oklahoma (+11%), Utah (+11%) and Montana (+10%).
View the latest employment data for every state.
[Note that the state-level analysis uses November 2019 as the pre-pandemic comparison instead of February 2020, because seasonally-adjusted employment figures are not available for every state.]
*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 15.5 million.
Track more economic indicators and read more analysis and commentary from the Association's economists.
Eating and drinking places* added a net 29,800 jobs in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That was up from an increase of 23,200 jobs in November, and represented just the second time all year that the sector added more than 20,000 jobs in consecutive months.
In total during calendar-year 2024, eating and drinking places added a net 172,500 jobs. That was only about half of the 309,000 jobs added during 2023, and it likely ushered in a period of more modest employment growth in the restaurant industry. That downshift followed nearly four years of catching up from pandemic-induced job losses.
Despite the slowdown in 2024, the industry workforce continued to expand beyond pre-pandemic levels. As of December 2024, eating and drinking places were more than 173,000 jobs (or 1.4%) above their February 2020 employment peak.
Fullservice segment still down 212k jobs
While overall restaurant employment surpassed pre-pandemic levels, significant differences still exist by segment.
The fullservice segment experienced the most job losses during the initial months of the pandemic – and it still has the longest path to recovery. As of November 2024, fullservice restaurant employment levels were 212,000 jobs (or 4%) below pre-pandemic readings in February 2020.
Employment counts in the cafeterias/grill buffets/buffets segment (-31%) also remained below their February 2020 levels.
Job losses in the limited-service segments were somewhat less severe during the initial months of the pandemic, as these operations were more likely to retain staff to support their existing off-premises business. As of November 2024, employment at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – was 135,000 jobs (or 17%) above February 2020 readings.
Staffing levels in the quickservice and fast casual segments were 163,000 jobs (or 4%) above pre-pandemic levels. Headcounts at bars and taverns were 40,000 jobs (or 9%) above the pre-pandemic peak.
[Note that the segment-level employment figures are lagged by one month, so November is the most current data available.]
Restaurant employment recovery uneven across states
Although restaurant employment trended higher on the national level in 2024, job growth remained uneven across the states. As of November 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia had fewer eating and drinking place jobs than they did in November 2019.
This group was led by North Dakota, which had 8% fewer eating and drinking place jobs in November 2024 than it did in November 2019. Maryland (-7%), Louisiana (-7%), West Virginia (-7%), Vermont (-6%) and Oregon (-6%) were also well below their pre-pandemic restaurant employment levels.
As of November 2024, eating and drinking place employment levels in 26 states were above their comparable pre-pandemic readings in November 2019. This group was led by Nevada (+12%), Oklahoma (+11%), Utah (+11%) and Montana (+10%).
View the latest employment data for every state.
[Note that the state-level analysis uses November 2019 as the pre-pandemic comparison instead of February 2020, because seasonally-adjusted employment figures are not available for every state.]
*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 15.5 million.
Track more economic indicators and read more analysis and commentary from the Association's economists.