With nearly 13 million employees, America's restaurants are the nation's second-largest private-sector employer and job-creator behind the construction industry. Eating and drinking places added 422,100 jobs (a 4.6 percent increase) during the 2009 summer season, and 352,900 jobs (3.7 percent increase) during the 2008 summer season.
The states projected to add the most eating and drinking place jobs during the 2010 summer season are New York (38,300), California (30,400), Texas (28,100), Massachusetts (24,800), New Jersey (24,600), Illinois (19,900), Ohio (19,800) and Michigan (18,600).
To download the PDF of NRA summer employment projections by state, click here. For the PDF of summer employment trends, click here.