NRA - Restaurants add 29,400 jobs in July

By Annika Stensson for the National Restaurant Association 

August 3, 2012

July’s jobs report released today came out stronger than expected, including the growth rate of restaurant and foodservice employment. Restaurants added 29,400 jobs last month, marking more than 290,000 jobs added in the last 12 months.

“The rate of restaurant employment growth continues to outpace national employment growth by more than double,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant Association. “While national employment advanced by 163,000, the rates at which the national employment recovery is progressing is still moderate.”

“From a restaurateur’s perspective, there is no substitute for robust employment growth to stimulate consumer spending, and thereby restaurant sales. The restaurant industry is in its third consecutive year of real sales growth, but not yet back to the sales growth rate we saw pre-recession,” Riehle said.

The National Restaurant Association’s latest quarterly jobs report (released July 6) showed that the restaurant industry is among the leading industries in job creation. Similarly, NRA’s analysis of restaurant industry employment growth at the state level shows the industry outpacing overall job growth in 35 states.

The NRA also released its monthly Restaurant Performance Index last week, showing that current conditions are improving for the restaurant industry, though the outlook for economic recovery in the next six months softened.

Source:  National Restaurant Association -Original Article: Restaurants add 29,400 jobs in July