Restaurant job growth outpaces overall job growth rate 2 to 1

New analysis by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that the restaurant industry continues to serve as a leading creator of jobs, outpacing overall U.S. employment growth.

In the 12 months ending June 2012, eating and drinking place employment jumped 2.7 percent, more than double the 1.3 percent increase in total U.S. employment during the same period. Restaurants added a net 116,000 positions in the first half of 2012.

Overall, restaurants have added more than 575,000 jobs since the employment recovery began in March 2010, with current industry staffing levels standing 193,000 jobs above the pre-recession peak. Restaurant industry job growth slowed along with the rest of the economy during the second quarter of 2012, but remains a net contributor to the economic recovery.

“While restaurant industry job growth is not immune to the ups and downs of the overall economy, our industry has continually been at the forefront of job creation for the last two years,” said Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.

Nearly 13 million people - almost 10 percent of the U.S. workforce - are employed in the nation’s restaurant industry making it the second largest private sector employer in the country. One in every 22 people in Louisiana is employed in its restaurant industry for a total of 200,000 individuals.

“In Louisiana, the restaurant industry is the largest private sector employer,” said Stan Harris, President/CEO, Louisiana Restaurant Association. “The correlation between the opportunities that exist for rewarding careers in our industry and our love of our world-renowned cuisine is evident in the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s projection that we’ll add another 17,400 positions in the next decade.”

This year, Louisiana’s annual sales are expected to top $6.5 billion, up a modest 1.5 percent from 2011’s $6.2 billion.

“Restaurant industry sales are gaining for the third consecutive year, spurring the nation’s nearly one million restaurants to staff up to meet the increasing demand for away-from-home meals. This illustrates the strength and resilience of our industry, as well as the wealth of opportunity it offers,” Sweeney added.

The NRA projects that restaurant industry sales will exceed $632 billion this year, a 3.5 percent increase over 2011 sales. This is the third consecutive year that industry sales will post real gains, driven by moderate improvements in consumer’s disposable income and gradual release of pent-up demand for restaurant visits. One out of three (33 percent) Americans say they are not dining out as often as they would like, down from two out of five (40 percent) just one year ago. As the industry grows, so does its need for labor, and the restaurant industry is one of the most labor intensive industries in the United States.

According to the NRA’s latest monthly Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey (June 2012), restaurant operators continue to plan for staffing increases in the second half of 2012. Twenty percent of restaurant operators plan to increase staffing levels in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), while only 8 percent said they expect to reduce staffing levels in six months. Seventy-two percent of operators said they expect their staffing levels to remain unchanged through the end of the year.