Statistics for Careers & Jobs in Restaurant Professions

Restaurant Career Statistics

Restaurant industry is comprised of all snacks and meals prepared and served away from home, including all carry-out meals and beverages as defined by the National Restaurant Association.
There are currently over 900,000 restaurants in the U.S.
In the United States, the restaurant industry is the largest private-sector employer, providing jobs for around 12 million individuals.
Over 40% of adults living in the U.S. have held employment in the restaurant industry at some point in their lives.
In 1999, takeout and delivery traffic accounted for a little over 50 percent of total restaurant business.
Outsiders and travelers make up 30 percent of dine-in restaurant sales and 15 percent of carry-out/fast-food restaurant sales.
About one-fourth of all food and beverage service workers are 16-19 years old; this is about five times the number of 16-19 year-olds working in other industries.
Since tips make up such a large portion of most workers' earnings, competition for the best jobs (fancy restaurants, etc.) will always be high.
Food and beverage servers held about 6.5 million jobs in 2002.

There were about 386,000 food service management jobs in 2002.
For management positions, applicants with associate's or bachelor's degrees in relevant fields have the best job opportunities.
Managers usually work with the head chef(s) to create menus in advance, so they can order food, set prices, and manage potential waste in advance.
Long hours are common in the restaurant industry.
In 2005, the restaurant industry in the United States did an amazing $476 billion worth of sales.
The restaurant industry is the largest national employer, besides the government.
Most restaurant establishments are small businesses; 7 out of 10 restaurant businesses employee less than 20 people.
Nine out of ten salaried employees started out as hourly employees.