Colorado restaurants are expected to add 10,800 jobs this summer for a total of 197,100 positions, according to projections issued today by the National Restaurant Association.
Nationwide, restaurants are expected to add 450,000 jobs during the summer, the highest summer employment number in the restaurant industry since 1993, the association said.
Last week, Broomfield-based economist Gary Horvath noted that in Colorado’s tourism sector – which includes restaurants – has passed the peak employment numbers of 2008
“That is a good sign because that probably means if restaurants are doing well people have a little bit more disposable income and they are eating out a little more often,” said Horvath.
Hudson Riehle, the restaurant association’s senior vice president of research, said the restaurant industry employment growth will outpace employment growth for the 13th year in a row.
The association said restaurants are the nation’s second largest private sector employer with nearly 13 million employees, a number projected to grow by 1.4 million positions in the next decade.
The states projected to add the most summer restaurant are New York, California, Massachusetts, and Texas.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com or twitter@HowardPankratz
