Report: Restaurants to add 490,000 summer jobs this year
Restaurants, especially in the Northeast, are expected to create more seasonal jobs than last year.
Restaurants are estimated to add 490,000 seasonal jobs this summer, per the National Restaurant Association’s 27th annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast. This is an increase from last year, when restaurants across the United States added 459,000 seasonal jobs, but down from 2023 when the industry added 524,000 jobs in the summer.
Seasonal hiring varies significantly by state and is influenced by weather changes as well as the reliance on summer travel and tourism. The states projected to register the largest proportional employment increase this summer are Maine (32%), Alaska (22%), Delaware (17%), Rhode Island (17%), New Hampshire (13%), New Jersey (12%) and Massachusetts (12%).
The states projected to add the most eating and drinking place jobs in total this summer are New York (48,100), California (38,300), New Jersey (33,300), Massachusetts (29,700), Texas (28,800), Illinois (22,900), Michigan (22,500) and Ohio (21,000).
Ahead of summer, the report noted that the restaurant industry’s prime labor pool was at its highest level in several years. More than 6.2 million 16-19-year-olds were in the labor force in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That was 900,000 higher than the comparable pre-pandemic level in April 2019, and represented the highest April reading since 2008 (6.5 million).
Overall, restaurants are the economy’s largest employer of teenagers, according to the National Restaurant Association, providing job opportunities for 1.9 million 16-19-year-olds – or 33% of all working teens. Workers between 20-24 years old account for 21% of all restaurant employees. There were 15.5 million 20-24-year-olds in the labor force in April 2025 – up from 15.0 million in April 2019.
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The report also notes that there were 11.7 million adults aged 65 or older in the labor force in April 2025, according to BLS. That was up from 10.4 million in April 2019 and represented the highest April reading on record. Although this age group makes up just 3% of the overall restaurant workforce, the National Restaurant Association says it their representation in the labor pool continues to rise in the coming years.
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is comprised of more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15.7 million employees.
