Economists at the National Restaurant Association say that Wisconsin’s restaurant industry will hire 16,000 employees this summer, increasing their workforce by 9 percent between March and August to handle the busy summer season.
Total employment in the industry is predicted to rise from 177,400 employees to 193,400 employees. That represents an increase of 1,400 summer jobs in Wisconsin’s foodservice industry over the summer of 2011, when the industry hired 14,600 summer employees.
It would be an increase of 9.6 percent in year-over-year summer employment in the industry.
“Hopefully, this is another indicator of significant economic growth in Wisconsin,” said Pete Hanson, director of government relations at the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. “At a minimum, it reflects optimism on the part of restaurant owners and increased tourism promotion efforts by the state Department of Tourism. I have no doubt that Wisconsin’s tourism promotion efforts will pay off this summer with increased tourist visits and more tourist dollars spent in our state.”
Economists at the national restaurant group use jobs numbers for the “eating and drinking places” industry compiled by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics to project the increase from March employment numbers to “summer employment” numbers. They also project summer jobs numbers for the foodservice industry for the nation, and those numbers are available at their web site: click here. The summer employment increase for the industry nationally is projected at 4.6 percent, or about half the increase projected for Wisconsin.
