Restaurant hiring rebounded sharply in August, giving the industry its strongest employment month after two consecutive months of job losses.
Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was nearly five times the industry’s average monthly gain of 12,000 jobs during the previous 12 months.
The increase was also unusually large within the broader economy. Total U.S. nonfarm employment rose by 162,000 jobs in August, meaning restaurants and bars accounted for more than one-third of the month’s net gain. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.
The numbers indicate that restaurant employers were adding workers again, but one strong month does not establish a lasting trend. Monthly employment estimates can change as additional information arrives, and August restaurant hiring can be influenced by seasonal turnover as students return to school and operators rebuild fall staffing.
For operators, the rebound presents two sides of the same labor market. More hiring can signal confidence in sales, operating hours and restaurant demand. It can also increase competition for dependable cooks, servers, managers and other workers at a time when many operators remain focused on controlling labor costs.
The next test will be whether restaurant employment continues growing after August and whether the industry can retain those workers. A durable improvement would require more than filling open positions for one month; it would require enough customer demand and restaurant-level productivity to support the added payroll.
