The National Restaurant Association's Chief Economist Bruce Grindy breaks down the latest employment trends: 

“The restaurant industry remains among the top sectors in post-recession job growth, according to new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eating and drinking places added a net 18,600 jobs in July on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the 53^rdstraight monthly increase and 25^th consecutive month with gains of at least 10,000 jobs. 

“Overall, the restaurant industry has added nearly 1.4 million jobs since the employment recovery began in March 2010. This ranks only behind the professional and business services (+2.7 million jobs) and health care and social assistance (+1.4 million jobs) sectors as the top job-creator during this period. 

“The overall economy also seems to have settled into a path of steady growth in recent months.  The national economy added a net 209,000 jobs in July, which represented the sixth consecutive month with gains of at least 200,000 jobs. Putting this in historical context, we have to go all the way back to 1997 to find another six-month steak with growth above the 200,000 level.

“A continuation of this growth will bode well for the restaurant industry, as consumers will grow more confident in their personal finances and be in a better position to burn off their pent-up demand for food away from home.”

Read more from the Economist’s Notebook. For additional analysis of restaurant industry trends, log on to Restaurant TrendMapper (subscription required).

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 990,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of more than 13.5 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 16-19, 2015, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.