Restaurants are projected to add nearly half a million jobs this summer. And that’s a good thing, because there are a lot of youngsters looking for work.
The National Restaurant Association’s 27th annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast, released Wednesday, estimates that restaurants will add 490,000 jobs this summer. That’s more than last year, when the industry added about 459,000 seasonal jobs.
The increase in hiring is expected in part because teenagers and young adults—young people who are most likely to look for seasonal jobs—are returning to the labor force in numbers not seen in years, the report said.
More than 6.2 million people aged 16 to 19 were in the labor force in April, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That was 900,000 higher than pre-pandemic levels in April 2019, and it was the highest April reading since 2008 (when 6.5 million teens were looking for work).
And the number of teens in the workforce was expected to reach 7 million as school years ended.
Restaurants, meanwhile, are the largest employer of teenagers, offering about 1.9 million jobs to 16- to 19-year olds, or 33% of working teens, the report said.
Employers across the industry, however, may be reluctant to expand their payrolls this year, given uncertainty about business conditions ahead, the report said.
“As a result, summer hiring is expected to remain below 500,000 for the second consecutive year,” the report said.
Tariffs and travel restrictions could also impact summer hiring, according to Marketplace. And tourism is down. The World Travel and Tourism Council reportedly is expecting spending from international travelers to the United States to be down $12.5 billion this year.
Indeed, a report in May from outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. predicted that teens will gain 1 million jobs in May, June and July this year across all industries—the lowest number since 2010— which will be down from the 1.1 million jobs employers actually added last year.
“Over the last few summers, there were ample opportunities for teens, but they seemed to shun them,” said Andrew Challenger, labor and workplace expert and senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in the report.
“This summer, we may not see the opportunities manifest,” he added. “With the current socio-political climate, we may see fewer tourists; with the expected impact of tariffs, we may see higher prices and lower consumer demand. Those who traditionally hire in the summer may hold off this year.”
In addition, employers are using new technologies and automation for tasks that teen workers might have done in the past, the Challenger report noted.
Meanwhile, there were 15.5 million 20- to 24-year olds in the labor force in April, up from 15 million in April 2019 and the highest number since 1984, according to the National Restaurant Association report. Young adults make up about 21% of the restaurant workforce.
And, on the other end of the spectrum, the number of older workers is also on the rise.
There were 11.7 million adults aged 65 and up in the labor force in April, up from 10.4 million in April 2019 and the highest level on record, the report said.
Though older workers represent only about 3% of the overall restaurant workforce, the association predicts that will change as the labor pool of those older workers grows. By 2033, the BLS estimates there will be 14.8 million adults over the age of 65 in the workforce.
Seasonal hiring varies by state and is, not surprisingly, influenced by weather. Summer jobs see the strongest growth in the Northeast, for example.
The states projected to register the largest proportional employment increase this year are Maine (32%), Alaska (22%), Delaware (17%), Rhode Island (17%), New Hampshire (13%), New Jersey (12%) and Massachusetts (12%).
The states that are expected to add the most restaurant summer jobs this year are New York (48,100), California (38,300), New Jersey (33,300), Massachusetts (29,700), Texas (28,800), Illinois (22,900), Michigan (22,500) and Ohio (21,000).
For many Americans, working a summer job is the gateway to the broader working world, notes Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
An estimated 1 in 8 Americans have at some point worked at McDonald’s, for example.
“Restaurant jobs teach communication, adaptability, attention to detail, and teamwork—skills that set employees up for success, whether they stay in the restaurant industry or take these lessons into other professions,” Korsmo said in a statement.
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