Average Weekly Work Hours on Rise

Average weekly work hours of nonmanager employees at foodservice establishments have risen for the first time in seven years, according to a report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On a year-to-date basis, ended September 2011, the number of hours worked by those nonsupervisory employees increased 0.5 percent, compared with no changes or declines in each of the six years prior.

Comparatively, average weekly hours worked by nonsupervisory employees in the overall private sector also rose 0.5 percent on a year-to-date basis through September 2011.
Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Association, expressed optimism that the figures could signal a positive harbinger of things to come, such as continued hiring within the restaurant industry.

"The number of hours worked by restaurant employees is trending up, which makes sense as companies are expanding the number of hours people work in tandem with hiring new people," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Association.

According to the report, average work-week hours in the quick-service segment increased 1.5 percent on a year-to-date basis, to 24 hours, compared with a 0.9-percent annual increase the year before. At full-service restaurants, average weekly hours rose 0.6 percent on a year-to-date basis, to 23.9 hours, compared with a 0.4-percent decline the year before.

The biggest increase, however, occurred in the snack and nonalcoholic beverage-bar segment, which for the first nine months of 2011 showed a 2.2-percent uptick to 23.2 hours, compared with a 3.9-percent decline the year before.