Restaurants accelerated their hiring in November, adding nearly 10 times as many employees during the month as they did in October, according to new figures from the federal government.
The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows eating and drinking places added 28,900 positions, compared with the the 3,000 jobs that were created in October.
BLS noted that the job count for all businesses in the Leisure and Hospitality category has increased this year at an average monthly rate of 21,000, with most of the increase coming each period from stepped-up hiring by restaurants and bars.
The foodservice industry ended last month with a total payroll of 12.4 million employees, compared with a pre-pandemic tally of 12.3 million.
The national unemployment rate for November was 4.2%, a slight bump-up from October’s 4.1%.
Only the health care industry hired more workers than restaurants did last month, with a gain of 53,600 positions.
Retailing, a main competitor of restaurants in recruiting employees, lost 28,000 jobs. The biggest slide in that sector came from grocery stores, which collectively lost 2,900 positions.
The BLS statistics show that the health care and foodservice trades remain the United States’ two largest private sector employers. Together, they accounted for roughly 1 out of every 3 of the 227,000 jobs that were created across the whole U.S. economy in November.
The month proved an exceptionally strong one for hiring overall. Economists had expected a surge, noting that October jobs figures had been tempered by hurricanes in the Southeast and the short-lived but widespread strike by dockworkers at a number of ports.
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