U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Industries at a Glance

Accommodation and Food Services: NAICS 72

About the Accommodation and Food Services sector

The accommodation and food services sector is part of the leisure and hospitality supersector.

The Accommodation and Food Services sector comprises establishments providing customers with lodging and/or preparing meals, snacks, and beverages for immediate consumption. The sector includes both accommodation and food services establishments because the two activities are often combined at the same establishment.

North American Industry Classification System

The accommodation and food services sector consists of these subsectors:

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in accommodation and food services. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Openings, Hires, and Separations


Data series	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	11,941.3	11,996.8	(P) 12,024.0	(P) 12,069.1
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees	10,162.5	10,269.7	(P) 10,455.9
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	12.2%	11.3%	10.7%	9.7%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	86	45	117	80
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	6,391	4,046	14,725	7,939
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings	349	408	(P) 508
Hires	536	543	(P) 676
Separations	613	457	(P) 540
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	2.3%	2.1%	2.1%	1.9%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	2.8%	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
Extended mass layoff events	186	66	(P) 143	(P) 57
Separations	49,742	13,157	(P) 35,167	(P) 7,904
Initial claimants	43,780	12,004	(P) 28,014	(P) 6,668
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2012
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food	2,492,280
Cooks, fast food	483,670
Cooks, restaurant	947,590
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	220,360
Waiters and waitresses	2,167,840

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for accommodation and food services.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in accommodation and food services. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$12.66	$12.62	$12.66	(P) $12.60
Average weekly hours	26.4	25.5	26.0	(P) 26.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$11.10	$11.04	$11.15	(P) $11.13
Average weekly hours	25.1	24.2	24.9	(P) 25.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
Data series	Back data	2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$423	$430	$447	$445
Members of unions		$526	$530	$594	$596
Represented by unions		$505	$524	$594	$588
Nonunion		$421	$424	$441	$438

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food	$8.71	$8.74	$18,110	$18,180
Cooks, fast food	$8.85	$9.02	$18,400	$18,760
Cooks, restaurant	$10.54	$11.15	$21,930	$23,190
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	$9.74	$10.53	$20,250	$21,890
Waiters and waitresses	$8.90	$9.93	$18,520	$20,660

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs


Data series	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
12-month percent change
Total compensation	1.2%	0.7%	1.1%	0.8%
Wages and salaries	1.3%	0.7%	1.1%	0.9%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)


Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2012
Data series	Back data	Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		11.37	100.0
Wages and salaries		9.06	79.7
Total benefits		2.30	20.3
Insurance		0.50	4.4
Retirement		0.11	0.9

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in accommodation and food services. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.


Data series	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	147	151	154	139
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	4.1	3.7	3.7	3.9
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Cases involving days away from work	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in accommodation and food services.

Establishments


Data series	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry	635,824	(P) 637,465	(P) 641,764	(P) 646,229
Local government	707	(P) 734	(P) 731	(P) 734
State government	14	(P) 13	(P) 14	(P) 14
Federal government	444	(P) 432	(P) 425	(P) 422
Footnotes (P) Preliminary