New Labor Report Shows Unexpected Results For The Restaurant Industry

Those who frequently eat at restaurants or order takeout (or watch the news) are likely aware of the severe labor shortage that has affected the U.S. From adding benefits for employees to attract more staff to "tipping" customers who pick up their orders to ease the strain on the workers they do have, many chains and restaurants have gotten creative in an effort to stay afloat and retain staff during the pandemic. But a recent report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on February 4 showed that the labor crisis is not in quite the dire state some might expect.

According to the report, 467,000 jobs were added during the month of January in the United States, and more than 100,000 of those jobs were in restaurants and bars alone, reports CNN. The outlet explains economists had estimated around 150,000 jobs total would be added, so the findings were significantly better than most had hoped for. Given that the number of employed is just 2.9 million jobs short compared to February 2020, and the country lost 22 million jobs in the months of March and April 2020, the increase is quite notable. But that doesn't mean the pandemic-era economy or labor crisis is over just yet.