News

Restaurant sales up, retail sales down in December

The restaurant industry posted its eighth consecutive monthly increase and strongest volume ever in December, adding 43,600 jobs.

January 16, 2015

Eating-and-drinking-place sales totaled $49.6 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis in December, the eighth consecutive monthly increase and strongest volume on record, according to the National Restaurant Association’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy.

In contrast, overall retail sales (excluding foodservice) fell 1.1 percent in December, due in large part to a 6.5 percent plunge in spending at gas stations.

The recent run of strong restaurant sales gains coincided with the sharp decline in gas prices, which fell more than $1.40 during the last six months of 2014. December’s restaurant sales volume of $49.6 billion was more than $2.3 billion above June’s seasonally-adjusted volume, an increase of 5 percent.

On the jobs front, the restaurant industry continued to expand payrolls at a strong pace in December, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eating and drinking places added a net 43,600 jobs in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis, their 58th consecutive monthly increase and strongest gain in two years.

In total for 2014, restaurants added jobs at a solid 3.1 percent rate, more than a full percentage point above the 1.9 percent gain in total U.S. employment. It also represented the 15th consecutive year in which restaurant job growth outpaced the overall economy.

The 2014 gain marked the third consecutive year in which eating and drinking place job growth topped 3 percent, the first such occurrence since the 1993 to 1995 period. Meanwhile, the overall economy hasn't posted job growth of 3 percent since 1994.