This was a significant improvement after two straight months of job losses, according to BLS data.
This article first appeared in Nation’s Restaurant News.
The restaurant industry saw the highest job growth rate out of all non-farm industries in August, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the report, while the national unemployment rate remained stagnant at 4.1% last month, the restaurant industry gained 59,000 jobs in August — a nearly 0.5% month-over-month increase. This growth rate is significantly above the average monthly gain of 12,000 over the prior 12 months, and 5 times the foodservice industry’s typical jobs growth rate.
This is a major improvement for restaurants after two straight months of job losses in June and July.
Comparatively, in August, the industry with the second-highest job growth rate was local education, which saw nearly 42,000 hires in August. Many other industries saw job declines in August, particularly the auto and information industries.
“A stronger jobs number is good for restaurants, but the real story is what it does to the labor market, not just the dining room,” Restaurant365’s chief product officer, Steve Demchuk, said in a statement. “More people working means more guests with paychecks. It also means more competition for the workers restaurants are trying to hire.”
August is historically a good hiring month for the restaurant industry, as seasonal workers go back to school and restaurants are looking to fill their shifts for the autumn changeover.
Last August, foodservice industry hiring similarly outpaced other industries during the slow late summer month.
Overall, the U.S. gained 162,000 net jobs in August — the nation’s slowest hiring month since January.
This article first appeared in Nation’s Restaurant News.
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