Fast food and counter workers, 2025 · 3,854,050 workers · Official statistic
Waiters and waitresses, 2025 · 2,270,910 workers · Official statistic
Restaurant cooks, 2025 · 1,409,890 workers · Official statistic
Food service supervisors, 2025 · 1,223,240 workers · Official statistic
Food preparation workers, 2025 · 893,600 workers · Official statistic
Bartenders, 2025 · 756,390 workers · Official statistic
Fast food cooks, 2025 · 641,070 workers · Official statistic
Bussers and barbacks, 2025 · 542,750 workers · Official statistic
Dishwashers, 2025 · 477,450 workers · Official statistic
Cafeteria cooks, 2025 · 441,050 workers · Official statistic
Restaurant hosts and hostesses, 2025 · 432,690 workers · Official statistic
Non-restaurant food servers, 2025 · 293,900 workers · Official statistic
Chefs and head cooks, 2025 · 200,040 workers · Official statistic
Short order cooks, 2025 · 138,650 workers · Official statistic
Future History · Industry
Food Service
14 jobs
Employment: the latest cited US figure for each job, with its year. BLS 2025-35 outlook: ↑ more than 3% growth, → within 3% either way, ↓ more than 3% decline (BLS Employment Projections, projected change in jobs 2025 to 2035).
Growing fastest (BLS 2025-35)
Declining (BLS 2025-35)
All Food Service jobs
- Fast Food and Counter Workers3.85M (2025)↑ +5.8%
- Waiters and Waitresses2.27M (2025)→ +2%
- Cooks, Restaurant1.41M (2025)↑ +12.1%
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers1.22M (2025)↑ +5.4%
- Food Preparation Workers894K (2025)→ -3%
- Bartenders756K (2025)↑ +5%
- Cooks, Fast Food641K (2025)→ +0.6%
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers543K (2025)↑ +5.3%
- Dishwashers477K (2025)→ -1%
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria441K (2025)→ +2.8%
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop433K (2025)↑ +3.4%
- Food Servers, Nonrestaurant294K (2025)↑ +4.5%
- Chefs and Head Cooks200K (2025)↑ +6.6%
- Cooks, Short Order139K (2025)↓ -5.2%