Food services and drinking places added 53,000 jobs in July. That’s one quarter of all 209.000 new jobs created last month, according to the Labor Department, and more than professional and business services (49,000), health care (39,000) or mining (1,000).
Employment in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month, the agency added.
“The hospitality sector is one of the core pillars of the U.S. economy – directly supporting nearly 11.8 million jobs,” boasted Distilled Spirits Council President/CEO Kraig R. Naasz. “It is a testament to the strong growth of the spirits sector, and overall hospitality sector, that it was a highlight of a robust jobs report.”
The Council estimated that overall retail sales of distilled spirits in the U.S. market reached nearly $78 billion in 2016, supporting more than 1.4 million jobs.
“America’s beer, wine and spirits retailers continue to the lead the way when it comes to providing good-paying jobs in their communities,” said American Beverage Licensees Executive Director John Bodnovich. “Bars, taverns and package stores support their local, state and national economies and will continue to work with industry partners, regulators and lawmakers to sustain continued growth in the beverage industry.”
Other key numbers from the Labor Department’s jobs report: Unemployment steady at 3.4%, as was the 7 million unemployed persons. About 26% of those jobless – 1.87 million Americans — had been unemployed for at least 27 weeks.
The labor force participation rate remains stuck at about 62.9%, the number of part-time workers who want full time work, 5.3 million, was unchanged.
The average workweek for all employees was unchanged at 34.5 hours, and the manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 40.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 33.7 hours for the fourth consecutive month.