Job growth is slowing
While the rebuilding of the restaurant workforce continued in April, albeit at a somewhat slower pace compared to recent months and previous monthly growth has been revised lower.
Eating and drinking places added a net 24,800 jobs in April on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary BLS data. April’s increase followed moderate gains in February (45,400) and March (28,200), which were revised lower from their preliminary readings. April represented the 28th consecutive month of payroll expansion in the restaurant industry; the addition of more than 2.5 million jobs during that period ranked as the economy’s top job creator. The professional and business services sector was the next closest industry, adding 2.2 million jobs during the 28 months.
Despite this growth, the restaurant workforce has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. As of April 2023, eating and drinking places were 87,000 jobs – or 0.7% – below their February 2020 employment peak. Although payroll growth slowed recently, job openings stood well above pre-pandemic levels. In March, there were nearly 1.3 million job openings in the combined restaurants and accommodations sector, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data from BLS. That represented the 23rd consecutive month with at least 1.2 million openings. Putting that in the context of pre-pandemic readings, there were an average of 875,000 hospitality job openings each month during 2019. Using this as a proxy for normal business conditions, it means there were more than 400,000 job openings above normal in March 2023. That leaves plenty of runway for continued restaurant employment gains in the months ahead, even if the overall economy continues to slow.
Restaurant Traffic April
Restaurant Traffic slowed MoM for both Quick Service and Casual Dining
In April Casual Dining slowed to (-7.3%) from (-5.9%) in March and Quick Service slowed to (-3.1%) in April from (-0.8%) in March.
