Restaurants Emerge As Bright Spot for US Job Growth As Consumers Seek Treats

On paper, American consumers spent last year tightening their belts, and even retail heavyweights stumbled. But sit-down restaurants and some drive-through chains buzzed with patrons seeking a special treat or cheap comfort food.

Their upbeat sales made the US restaurant industry a rare bright spot for jobs, with restaurant payrolls ticking up 1 percent last year, adding about 108,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In contrast, the overall US economy added 181,000 non-farm jobs in 2025, marking the weakest annual payroll growth in 20 years outside a recession year. uccess among restaurants was not evenly spread, though.

Corporate filings show that eateries such as Brinker’s opens new tab Chili’s, Yum Brands’ opens new tab Taco Bell and fast-growing coffee chain Dutch Bros opens new tab lured customers by aggressively marketing bundled deals, leaning into digital innovation and limited-time offers, and focusing on high-margin, Instagrammable food.

But previous darlings like Chipotle opens new tab and Cava opens new tab were hurt by what analysts call the “slop-bowl fatigue” - growing weariness among younger consumers with high-priced, customizable grain or salad bowls. Tempe, Arizona-based Dutch Bros and its franchisees added roughly 8,000 employees in the last two years, a 33 percent increase, the company said.

“We have a healthy pipeline of growth,” CEO Christine Barone told Reuters after the company’s earnings in February. The brand, which serves customizable beverages, is a hit with younger consumers, Barone said. A similar story is playing out at another chain that, like Dutch Bros, sells more treats than meals.

Ice cream chain Whit’s Frozen Custard has grown its payroll by up to 40 percent a year for the past two years, said owner Bill Aseere, to keep up with rapid growth. It now has stores in 93 __cpLocations across 10 states and some 15 to 20 employees per store.

Amanda Wang, co-founder of fast-growing Chinese beverage chain Ningji Lemon Tea – part of a tidal wave of Chinese tea brands coming to the US – said her chain’s new restaurants in the US were buoyed by demand among price-weary consumers for affordable indulgences. Tea “offers that little bit of happiness,” she said.

As a whole, the restaurant industry grew payrolls even as it weathers depressed traffic and rising labor costs, analysts say, thanks in part to menu price increases.

A deeper look at 2025 payroll data shows the difference in fortunes between types of restaurants: staff headcount at snack and non-alcoholic beverage restaurants grew 3.6 percent in 2025 and those at sit-down restaurants rose 1 percent. But fast-food payrolls grew only 0.4 percent, while cafeterias and buffet payrolls shrank 3.9 percent.