Eating and drinking places added a net 59,200 jobs in August, the largest single-month gain since January 2023, following job losses in both June and July. Restaurant employment is now running about 1.2% above pre-pandemic levels overall, though the recovery remains uneven: fullservice restaurants are still roughly 203,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels despite recent stronger growth, while limited-service segments like quickservice and coffee shops are well above their pre-pandemic numbers. Growth also varies widely by state, with restaurant employment still below pre-pandemic levels in 16 states plus D.C., led by Vermont and D.C., while mountain states like Utah, Nevada, and Idaho have seen the strongest gains. Read more at restaurant.org.