Restaurant hiring is picking up
Restaurants and bars added 48,000 jobs in May and have been on a hiring tear for months now
June 5, 2026
Consumers may be dining out less often at restaurants but that isn’t stopping operators from hiring.
Restaurants and bars added 48,000 jobs in May, according to new data on Friday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The industry was one of the top job creators in a month in which hiring bested economists’ expectations. The overall economy added 172,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate was 4.3%.
The results eased concerns that the economy was heading for a recession, though it sent stocks down Friday.
But restaurants now employ more than 12.4 million people, and the boost in hiring last month further accelerated hiring growth in the industry this year.
With last month’s increase, restaurants and bars have created another 94,600 jobs so far this year, slower than the traditional rate of hiring but far more than in recent years.
Restaurants and bars have now created more jobs so far this year than they did in all of 2025, according to federal data. The industry added just 78,000 jobs all of last year.
And, by comparison, restaurants actually cut 48,000 jobs in the first five months of 2025.
About the Author
Jonathan Maze
Editor in Chief, Restaurant Business
Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.
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