Restaurants to add 508,000 summer jobs

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The National Restaurant Association’s chief economist presents the summer employment forecast. Restaurants are expected to add 508,000 jobs this summer. This summer’s forecast is the second largest on record behind 2013.

In his latest commentary, the National Restaurant Association’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy presents the 2014 summer employment forecast. Restaurants are expected to add 508,000 jobs this summer season, which will rank only behind 2013 as the largest number of summer jobs on record.

Restaurants are expected to add 508,000 jobs this summer season, according to National Restaurant Association’s 16^th Annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast. The projected 2014 gain would represent the second consecutive year in which restaurants add at least 500,000 jobs during the summer season.

Driven by an improving economy and consumers’ elevated levels of pent-up demand for restaurants, 2014 will represent only the second summer on record with a gain of at least a half-million restaurant jobs. Eating and drinking places added a record 538,800 summer jobs in 2013, which easily eclipsed the previous high of 465,400 summer jobs added in 2011.

In percentage terms, the 1993 summer season still holds the all-time record, with summer employment at eating and drinking places jumping 6.9 percent over its March employment level.

The states projected to add the most eating and drinking place jobs during the 2014 summer season are California (47,600), New York (46,300), Massachusetts (30,400), New Jersey (28,000), Texas (27,200), Ohio (22,400) and Michigan (21,600).

The states projected to register the largest proportional employment increase during the 2014 summer season are Maine (33.2 percent increase), Alaska (21.0 percent increase), Delaware (18.0 percent increase), New Hampshire (16.5 percent increase) and Rhode Island (15.7 percent increase).

Due to the fact that their busiest seasons for travel and tourism are not in the summer months, two states are projected to register declines in eating and drinking place employment during the 2014 summer season: Florida (-10,700) and Arizona (-5,500).

The restaurant industry is usually the nation’s second-largest creator of summer jobs, ranking only behind the construction industry.

Summer employment is defined as the average number of eating and drinking place jobs in June, July and August. The number of summer jobs is the difference between the projected total 2014 summer employment and the March 2014 employment level. Generally, the U.S. restaurant industry begins to ramp up its summer seasonal hiring in April, and it peaks in June, July and August. Eating and drinking places account for approximately three-fourths of the total restaurant and foodservice workforce.

Read more from the Economist’s Notebook. For additional analysis of restaurant industry trends, log on to Restaurant TrendMapper at www.restaurant.org/trendmapper (subscription required).