NRA Forecast: Recruiting to get tougher

U.S. restaurant operators say recruitment and retention of employees will be more challenging this year now that the economy and job growth are improving, according to new findings from the National Restaurant Association.

The data, part of the association's 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast, determined that 32 percent of fine-dining and quick-service operators and 27 percent of family-dining, casual-dining and fast-casual operators agree that employee recruiting and retention will be more challenging this year than it was in 2011.

"We don't expect national employment to fully recover until 2014, but restaurant operators should still think ahead and place their labor needs before market conditions tighten over the next years," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the NRA's Research & Knowledge Group. "Right now the potential labor pool is still larger than it was during prerecession times. With millions still looking for work, operators can more easily recruit workers now rather than when they are faced with a shallower labor pool downstream."

The report further found that total restaurant and foodservice employment is expected to grow 11 percent over the next 10 years, while the number of 16- to 24-year-olds in the labor force will advance just 6 percent. It also indicated that the employment participation rate among adults aged 55 and older would continue to grow.