As we dig into the belated September jobs report, let’s take a closer look at table B-1 therein, titled: “Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail.” Looking at that industry detail, more than 36,000 jobs were added last month in “Food services and drinking places.”
Also known as restaurants. And those job gains are more than any sector besides health care.
Plenty of people are still eating out in Keene, New Hampshire. That’s where Beth Wood owns the 21 Bar and Grill.
“We get customers from all bases. We have a college in town. We have families that come in. We have business professionals,” Wood said.
To feed the crowds, Wood recently hired three additional kitchen staff. She said the process was much easier than it used to be.
“A year ago, it was pretty impossible to hire kitchen staff and now it’s great to actually see applications come in and people inquire more frequently if we are hiring,” Wood said.
One reason for this uptick in restaurant applications is that some workers are having a hard time finding jobs elsewhere in the economy.
“That’s a normal employment cycle for the restaurant business,” said Alex Susskind, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University. “When the economy starts to tighten and other types of employment become less available, then the restaurant business is always there. It always has been.”
Some applicants may also look to restaurants for a second or third job. And Susskind said restaurants can use the labor right now. Especially full-service ones. That’s because high earners are dining out a lot. And even folks with tighter finances, who might be cutting back on travel or luxury items, still see restaurants as one place they can splurge a little.
“They’re not afraid of spending money. They’re just very careful about selecting the right experiences for the money that they do have to spend. And so, a food service experience, a restaurant experience might be a part of that,” Susskind said.
Still, some restaurant owners aren’t sure the good times will last.
“When I talk to restaurant operators, they’re very anxious about the next six months. They’re really getting hit pretty hard by rising costs. And the uncertainty over a number of issues, I think is really causing them to be much more anxious,” said Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Restaurant Association.
For now, though, customer traffic has modestly declined nationwide. But Moutray said it’s still enough to keep the restaurant industry, and its workers, afloat. Which he said reflects something about American consumers.
“After a while they get tired of cooking, and they wanna go out to eat. They want to go out and celebrate things. Consumers are prioritizing restaurants,” Moutray said.