Lino Lakes, Minnesota, Help wanted to sign at McDonalds with a large initial paycheck.
Michael Siluk | Getty Images
You’ve seen pay rise headlines at McDonald’s, Chipotle and other restaurants, they now appear in the data.
According to a new report from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence and Snagajob, the wages of hourly catering workers with limited services increased 10% in the second quarter compared to a year ago.
It is the largest quarterly jump in recent years. In comparison, hourly employees with limited services saw their wages rise just 4.1% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier.
Many industries have been struggling to find enough willing workers as they pick up demand, but restaurants in particular have been hard hit by job challenges. The July unemployment rate was 8.4% for places to eat and drink, up from 5.9% two years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Black Box data showed that full-service restaurants operate with 6.2 fewer employees in the kitchens and 2.8 fewer in the front of the house than in 2019.
Last year, layoffs and advances worsened some employees in the restaurant industry, while others stayed home due to lack of access to child care or health-related problems. ongoing pandemic. A Snagajob survey of 4,700 current and current hourly workers found that 18% of unemployed workers had to leave a job to care for family members.
According to the report, billing rates are also higher than pre-pandemic levels, putting even more pressure on restaurants. The turnover rate of limited services was 144% in June, up from 135% in 2019. The turnover rate of full-service restaurants was 106%, up from 102% before the health crisis. The Snagajob survey found that 28% of workers have completely left the catering industry to seek higher pay in other jobs, such as warehouses.
“We have all these employees and all of a sudden they’re gone,” Starr Restaurants CEO Stephen Starr said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”. “They don’t want to come back.”
This dynamic has forced many restaurants to increase payment, offer bonuses and improve their profits. McDonald’s increased the company’s restaurant workers’ pay by an average of 10% in May and urged franchisees, which operate 95% of their locations in the United States, to follow suit. He also said he would pilot an emergency child care service. Chipotle Mexican Grill increased its hourly wages to an average of $ 15 and debuted benchmark bonds.
Fast food workers are not the only ones earning a higher wage. The report also said line chefs for full-service restaurants were paid 6% more in the second quarter, nearly 3% more than their salary increase in the previous quarter.