Restaurants and Food Services

The U.S. restaurant and food service industry has grown from a $590 billion industry in 2010, to a $1.1 trillion industry. In early 2025, the National Restaurant Association projected that restaurant industry sales would reach $1.5 trillion in sales in 2025. Restaurants and other food-service providers are so widespread that six out of 10 adults have worked in food service in one way or another at some point in their lives. The restaurant and food service industry employs about 10 percent of the workforce in the United States and both industry organizations and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in general will grow.

Job growth will vary in the coming years, however, depending on the type of job. The BLS projects slower than average employment growth for food services managers and a decline in employment for food preparation workers through 2033. Restaurants and food service companies may have chefs and cooks take on the food service managers job, and they may order food and ingredients that have already been prepared, therefore eliminating the need for food prep workers and managers. Meeting, convention, and event planners and market research specialists employed in this industry will experience faster than average employment growth through 2033. The National Restaurant Association forecasts that 1.6 million new restaurant jobs will be added to the industry by 2030.

Operators of table service restaurants identified the effects of health care reform, the state of the economy, and possible government regulation of the industry as the most challenging issues for the industry. Other concerns include growing and sustaining sales, managing costs, and training and retaining employees.

Restaurants are growing the fastest in Southern and Southwestern states, especially Arizona, Texas, Florida, Nevada, and Georgia.

Growth in the restaurant industry was hindered by the pandemic, which forced many U.S. restaurants to close, starting in March 2020. The National Restaurant Association reported that by the fall of 2020, approximately one in six restaurants (about 100,000 restaurants) had closed either permanently or long term, and 3 million employees were out of work. One restaurant professional observed that the pandemic raised even greater awareness in the industry about the importance of health, sanitation, and food safety, for employees and consumers. Since the pandemic, restaurants and food service businesses have reopened, and a stronger economy has increased consumers' disposable income. As described by the National Restaurant Association in its 2025 State of the Industry report, "opportunity and cautious optimism will drive industry growth...".

In general, the health of the restaurant and food service industry remains vulnerable to economic trends and changes in public tastes. When the economy is weak, people often cut back on restaurant spending. Rising costs for food and other supplies or the cost of transporting them can also have a negative effect on restaurant business. Restaurants that update their menus are better poised to retain customers who may grow tired of certain dishes or drinks. Many restaurants now offer customers the opportunity to order or make reservations online, to use third-party delivery services such as DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats, or engage with the business via social media, an important part of keeping diners interested and informed about a restaurant's offerings.