Restaurants and bars added 29,800 new jobs in December, according to new federal data released Friday, continuing a run of strong employment growth despite chain bankruptcies, unit closures and traffic declines.
The industry was, again, one of the economy’s strongest job creators last month. The economy created 256,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate at 4.1%. Restaurants and bars represented 12% of all jobs created in December.
The industry is responsible for nearly 12.5 million jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The data suggest an industry in healthier shape than it may appear, albeit one that remains competitive. For much of 2024, concern in the industry focused on low traffic and the after-effects of inflation. Dozens of chains filed for bankruptcy, including large brands Red Lobster and TGI Fridays. Hundreds if not thousands of locations were shuttered last year as brands closed underperforming units and sought to fix their finances.
Fast-food restaurants in particular started pushing discount deals to get leery consumers back in the doors.
An industry that is adding jobs is one that believes business is strong enough to warrant the investment.
That said, job growth in the leisure and hospitality industry did slow last year, averaging 24,000 monthly jobs in 2024. That was about half the average monthly gain of 47,000 in 2023. Restaurants account for the bulk of leisure and hospitality jobs.
Wages in the leisure and hospitality industry were up 3.2% year over year last month, moderately lower than the 3.9% rate of growth in the economy overall. But average weekly earnings rose just 2.4% last month, suggesting that some restaurants are cutting hours to adjust for higher pay rates.
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