LABOR PAINS

Unlike a couple of years ago, restaurants are now likely to be fully staffed. But that workforce is getting increasingly expensive and complex. Restaurant Business examined how the current labor situation is impacting all segments of the industry.


By Restaurant Business Staff

RESTAURANTS’ LABOR SITUATION HAS IMPROVED, BUT IT’S FAR FROM PERFECTREAD MORE

RESTAURANT JOBS SHIFT WITH THE POPULATION

The following graph shows the change in restaurant and bar jobs by state since 2019. States in the West and South are gaining while those in the Midwest and Northeast are losing jobs.
TECH IS EASING RESTAURANTS’ LABOR NEEDS, BUT THERE’S AN ASTERISKREAD MORE

HOW DAVE’S HOT CHICKEN IS PREPARING FOR CALIFORNIA’S UNPRECEDENTED FAST FOOD MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

In April this year, the minimum wage for fast food workers will increase to $20 per hour. To really understand the impact of that increase, Restaurant Business Executive Editor Lisa Jennings spent a day working at Dave’s Hot Chicken in the Los Angeles area, near the campus of California State University at Northridge, or CSUN.


READ MORE ON CALIFORNIA’S WAGE HIKE

“[The ideal labor situation] would be to have the American public have a perception of the opportunities in the restaurant industry that is consistent with what really exists.”
-ROB GIFFORD, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

FROM OUR SISTER BRAND FOODSERVICE DIRECTOR


RESTAURANT JOBS SLOWLY RECOVER

Restaurant and bar jobs lost half their workforce in the spring of 2020 and then slowly recovered. They finally recovered lost jobs in November last year.