Restaurants and bars shed nearly 33,000 jobs in June

Restaurants and bars shed nearly 33,000 jobs in June after the spring rebound. Leisure and hospitality lost jobs last month even as total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 57,000 and the unemployment rate held at 4.2 percent. The BLS also revised May’s gains down by 10,300 positions, leaving food services and drinking places essentially flat so far in 2026.

For workers on the floor, that slowdown shows up first as fewer posted shifts, tighter schedules and less overtime, not just layoffs. When sales weaken and wage rates stay elevated, operators respond by freezing hiring or leaning more on mobile apps, kiosks and third-party delivery instead of adding labor. That puts more pressure on line cooks, servers, hosts and bartenders to cover the same volume with smaller crews, and it makes second jobs harder to find at the moment many workers are trying to stack summer income.

The National Restaurant Association projected that restaurants would add about 450,000 seasonal jobs this summer, down from 469,000 last summer and the third straight year below 500,000 seasonal hires. It put the seasonal labor pool at 200,000 fewer teenagers in the labor force in April 2024 and April 2025 than in recent years. Teen hiring has long helped fill entry-level restaurant jobs, especially in quick-service spots, bars with food service and full-service dining rooms that need extra hands for patios and weekend rushes.

As of May 2026, eating and drinking place employment was nearly 153,000 jobs, or 1.2 percent, above its February 2020 level. Full-service restaurant employment was still 187,000 jobs, or 3.3 percent, below pre-pandemic readings as of April 2026. The BLS put the labor force participation rate at 61.5 percent in June and the employment-population ratio at 59.0 percent.