Here’s a report on Restaurant labor trends we saw in May to give you better insight into the current labor market for the food and drink industry.
Hello and welcome to… JULY?!? Life moves fast when the nation reopens from a pandemic, and hiring is more complicated than it’s ever been before. But, don’t worry, take a deep breath — we’re here to give you a quick overview of restaurant hiring trends we saw on Poached in June. And, while I can’t say things are back to how they were pre-covid — it does seem that things are steadily getting better. This news can serve as a bit of relief as media coverage continues to report on the labor shortage — stressing us all out.
Employer Activity
With vaccination rates up, states across the nation pulled back their emergency orders — allowing restaurants to resume business as usual (for the most part) and it shows. In June, we saw a 12.7% increase in jobs posted on Poached compared to April. Competition is still high, and will likely remain high throughout the summer. This is the time to give everything you’ve got when creating your job post. It’s a restaurant workers market out there, so don’t forget to mention pay, perks, and a bit on your company story — all these details really do make a difference in how many applications your job brings in.
Our data lines up with what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in their June employment report. Non-farm payroll employment added 850,000 jobs in June, but the unemployment numbers mostly remained the same at 5.9% (9.5 Million). While this number represents all industries, the report indicates that the Leisure and Hospitality sector was among the few notable gains.
Worker Activity
Okay, now onto the important stuff, because I know you already know hiring is competitive right now. Here’s some good news: while not a huge bump, we did see a continued increase in worker activity from April to June.
Overall, new job seeker registrations were up by 14% in June, showing a steady increase from April. We also saw a 15.6% increase in new resume creation and a 15.7% increase in submitted applications on Poached. The numbers are definitely not at pre-pandemic levels, but they are steadily increasing showing that slowly but surely people are coming back!
The hiring market is tight, and the forecast is that it’s likely to remain the same. But have hope, workers are returning, and we predict that the upward trend in worker activity will only increase over the next couple of months. Again, because of how difficult hiring is right now, it’s essential not to rush your job description and add as much detail about the position as possible.