# First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

US SOC code 35-1012. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/35-1012

Also called: Kitchen supervisor, Shift supervisor restaurant, Restaurant shift manager, Food service supervisor, Kitchen manager.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **1,223,240** US first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, with median pay of **$44,080** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://restaurant.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/) of **86,000** from 1919, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Cloud-based workforce management + POS analytics, 2015 to 2022. Third-party delivery growth (per NRA data) created a "virtual second dining room" that supervisors managed without additional staff, effectively increasing the span of control per supervisor.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=35-1012&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **25.6%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1750
- Latest US employment: 1,223,240 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $44,080 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [12]
- Outlook: +5.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [29]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 62020)
  - Employment, 2020: 71,205. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 62020 Food service supervisors, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$38,800. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [16]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 62020 Food service supervisors, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 30 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1919 | 86,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Restaurant Association [1] |
| 1950 | 220,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Restaurant Association [1] |
| 1956 | n/a | $3,900 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [9] |
| 1970 | 420,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Restaurant Business Online [2] |
| 1990 | 740,000 (estimate) | $17,500 (estimate) | Est., BLS FRED (employment) [3]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [10] |
| 1999 | n/a | $22,221 | Census 2000 [11] |
| 2000 | 870,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., O\*NET 35-1012.00 [4] |
| 2003 | 694,040 | $24,700 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 733,680 | $25,410 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 748,550 | $26,050 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 769,320 | $26,980 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 788,750 | $28,040 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 805,360 | $28,970 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 791,750 | $29,470 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 773,400 | $29,560 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 787,540 | $29,550 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 817,600 | $29,270 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 842,540 | $29,320 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 867,340 | $29,560 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 884,090 | $30,340 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 908,550 | $31,480 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 927,440 | $31,960 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 964,400 | $32,450 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 1,011,100 | $33,400 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 891,540 | $34,570 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 1,040,600 | $36,570 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 1,169,620 | $37,050 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 1,176,540 | $38,520 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 1,187,460 | $42,010 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 1,223,240 | $44,080 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (95)

### Employment series

1. [National Restaurant Association — Our History (43,000 restaurants at founding, 1919)](https://restaurant.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/), National Restaurant Association
2. [Restaurant Business Online — Timeline: How Today's Restaurant Industry Came to Be (1970 sales $42 billion)](https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/special-reports/timeline-how-todays-restaurant-industry-came-be), Restaurant Business Online
3. [BLS FRED — All Employees, Food Services and Drinking Places (CES7072200001), historical series from January 1990](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES7072200001), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis / Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [O\*NET 35-1012.00 — First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (occupation introduction reference)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/35-1012.00), O\*NET / BLS
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959 (BLS historical bulletin wage data)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
10. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1990-1999 (BLS Occupational Compensation Survey, food service)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1990-1999), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
11. [U.S. Census 2000, Earnings by Detailed Occupation (Table 2): First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Food Preparation and Serving Workers, year-round full-time median earnings $22,221 for 1999.](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/2000/earnings-occupation/call2usboth.csv), CENSUS
12. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
13. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
15. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
16. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

17. [Library of Congress — Hospitality Industry: Restaurants, Hotels, and Lodging Resource Guide (history section)](https://guides.loc.gov/hospitality-restaurants-hotels/history), Library of Congress
18. [Le Cordon Bleu — What Is the Kitchen Brigade System? (Escoffier history and structure)](https://www.cordonbleu.edu/news/what-is-the-kitchen-brigade-system/en), Le Cordon Bleu
19. [National Culinary Authority — The Kitchen Brigade System: Roles and Hierarchy Explained](https://nationalculinaryauthority.com/kitchen-brigade-system), National Culinary Authority
20. [Hamburger University — McDonald's employee training program history (founded 1961, 15-student inaugural class)](https://mcdonaldspostraining.app/hamburger-university/), McDonald's / Hamburger University
21. [Wikipedia — History of McDonald's (Ray Kroc, Des Plaines 1955, expansion timeline)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_McDonald%27s), Wikipedia
22. [Revel Systems — History of POS Systems: From Cash Registers to Cloud (restaurant POS timeline including IBM 4683 and Aloha)](https://revelsystems.com/blog/point-of-sale-pos-history/), Revel Systems
23. [ServSafe — Wikipedia (program history, created 1998, 1 millionth certification 1999)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ServSafe), Wikipedia
24. [National Restaurant Association — Our History (ServSafe 1 millionth certification, 1999; 5 millionth by 2012)](https://restaurant.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/), National Restaurant Association
25. [Restaurant Business Online — Timeline: How Today's Restaurant Industry Came to Be (delivery sales 2018)](https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/special-reports/timeline-how-todays-restaurant-industry-came-be), Restaurant Business Online
26. [Crunchtime — Introduces Four New AI Capabilities to Elevate Operations Management Lifecycle (April 2026)](https://www.crunchtime.com/press/crunchtime-introduces-four-new-ai-capabilities-to-elevate-operations-management-lifecycle), Crunchtime
27. [National Restaurant Association — State of the Restaurant Industry 2026 (26% of operators using AI; 60% plan increased technology investment)](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/media/press-releases/persistent-cost-increases-and-enduring-demand-will-shape-the-restaurant-industry-in-2026/), National Restaurant Association
28. [Fourth — AI in Restaurants: The Tools You Need in 2025 (Fourth iQ at Chili's: 20% scheduling accuracy improvement)](https://www.fourth.com/article/ai-in-restaurants), Fourth

### Forecasts and exposure studies

29. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 35-1012 First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers (2025: 1,236.4 thousand; 2035: 1,303.5 thousand; +5.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=35-1012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
30. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 35-1012.00, human-rated β 0.256)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

31. [Gothamist — A Brief History of Delmonico's, New York City's First Restaurant](https://gothamist.com/food/a-brief-history-of-delmonicos-new-york-citys-first-restaurant), Gothamist
32. [Le Cordon Bleu — What Is the Kitchen Brigade System? (Escoffier at the Savoy, 1890s)](https://www.cordonbleu.edu/news/what-is-the-kitchen-brigade-system/en), Le Cordon Bleu
33. [National Restaurant Association — Our History (founded 1919 with 43,000 restaurants)](https://restaurant.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history/), National Restaurant Association
34. [Hamburger University: The Secret Sauce of McDonald's Global Success (history, 1961 founding, inaugural class)](https://stormmiami.com/hamburger-university-the-secret-sauce-of-mcdonalds-global-success-and-a-blueprint-for-business-excellence/), Storm Miami
35. [ServSafe — Wikipedia (program created 1998; NRA history: 1 millionth certification 1999)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ServSafe), Wikipedia
36. [National Restaurant Association — State of the Restaurant Industry 2026 (AI adoption 26%; hard-to-fill 70%; tech investment plans 60%)](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/media/press-releases/persistent-cost-increases-and-enduring-demand-will-shape-the-restaurant-industry-in-2026/), National Restaurant Association

### Predecessors & successors

37. [BLS OOH — Food Service Managers: most food service managers begin their careers as cooks or other food service workers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
38. [O\*NET 35-1012.00 — career path: most supervisors were previously food service workers](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/35-1012.00), O\*NET / BLS
39. [Wikipedia — History of McDonald's (crew to shift supervisor career track institutionalized by Kroc, 1960s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_McDonald%27s), Wikipedia
40. [BLS OOH — Food Service Managers: how to become one (first-line supervisor as standard entry path)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/food-service-managers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 35-1012.00 — First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/35-1012.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-03
- [National Restaurant Association — State of the Restaurant Industry 2026 (26% of operators using AI)](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/media/press-releases/persistent-cost-increases-and-enduring-demand-will-shape-the-restaurant-industry-in-2026/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Restaurant Dive — NRA: Over 25% of restaurant operators use AI (Feb 2026)](https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/national-restaurant-assocation-operator-artificial-intelligence-adoption/812418/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Crunchtime — Introduces Four New AI Capabilities (April 2026)](https://www.crunchtime.com/press/crunchtime-introduces-four-new-ai-capabilities-to-elevate-operations-management-lifecycle), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Fourth — AI in Restaurants: The Tools You Need in 2025](https://www.fourth.com/article/ai-in-restaurants), accessed 2026-06-03
- [BLS OOH — Food Preparation and Serving Occupations (5-6% projected growth 2024-2034)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Food Institute — 6 Ways AI Will Impact Restaurants in 2026](https://foodinstitute.com/focus/6-ways-ai-will-impact-restaurants-in-2026/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Push Operations — How AI Scheduling Is Transforming Multi-Unit Workforce Management (2026)](https://www.pushoperations.com/blog/how-ai-scheduling-for-restaurants-is-transforming-multi-unit-workforce-management), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Crunchtime — Inventory Without the Guesswork: AI in Restaurant Efficiency](https://www.crunchtime.com/blog/inventory-without-the-guesswork-how-ai-is-powering-restaurant-efficiency), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Toast — AI Forecasting and Toast IQ for restaurant operators (2025)](https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/ai-restaurant-data), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Crunchtime — 6 Must-Have AI Features Every Restaurant Needs in 2026](https://www.crunchtime.com/blog/6-must-have-ai-features-every-restaurant-needs), accessed 2026-06-03

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.