The National Restaurant Association’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy breaks down the latest figures in the job report from the Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics show that since February there has been the strongest monthly gain of net jobs in June when a total of 29,900 jobs were added. During the first half of the year, growth was not steady, but both the restaurant industry and overall economy are still ahead of 2014 employment gain statistics as total U.S. employment was up by 2.2% on a year-to-date basis through June. “Job growth within the restaurant industry was broad-based in the first half of 2015, with several of the major segments registering strong gains. Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars – including coffee, donut and ice cream shops – were among the leading sectors of the economy with a robust 6.4 percent employment gain on a year-to-date basis through May” Grindy reports. If this trend holds true for the rest of the year, 2015 would be the nation’s strongest annual employment gain since 1999.

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