Eating and Drinking Places Gained 27,200 Jobs in December
Eating and drinking places outpaced the rest of the economy by adding 27,200 jobs in December, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, the overall economy gained only 50,000 nonfarm payroll jobs for the month.
The gain was an improvement from November, when restaurants and other eating and drinking businesses added only 6,800 jobs. It also represented the sixth consecutive monthly increase in restaurant employment.
Overall, the industry added nearly 150,000 jobs in 2025, up from 129,500 jobs gained in 2024. As noted by the National Restaurant Association, those gains are particularly impressive when considering that eating and drinking places lost nearly 66,000 jobs during the first two months of the year.
Since returning to pre-pandemic employment levels in 2024, the industry has continued to see steady job gains. Eating and drinking place employment is now nearly 230,000 jobs (1.9%) above its February 2020 numbers. The strongest performing sector is snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, such as coffee shops and ice cream businesses, which account for 205,000 (25%) of net new jobs created above the pre-pandemic readings. Quick service and fast casual are also gaining jobs at a strong rate, with employment up 140,000 (3%) compared to February 2020. However, the fullservice segment appears to still be recovering. Jobs at fullservice restaurants remain 173,000 positions (3%) below pre-pandemic levels.
The recovery has also been more rapid in the Mountain West states. In Idaho, eating and drinking place employment is up 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels, followed by South Dakota (19%), Utah (15%), and Nevada (14%). Meanwhile, some states still have not fully recovered their restaurant jobs. Massachusetts, Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, and California all have about 3% fewer restaurant jobs today than in the third quarter of 2019, while Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont are about 2% below.
The National Restaurant Association’s full analysis is available here.