Food Service Labor Force: Starting Out

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, many young people find their first jobs in the food service industry, as waiters and waitresses, hosts and hostesses, counter and cafeteria line attendants, bus staff, dishwashers, and food prep kitchen workers. They provide the many hands needed for the lowest skilled services in hospitality. Twenty-one percent of these workers were sixteen to nineteen years old in 2008, which is about six times the proportion of young people working in other settings such as business offices, in transportation, or health care. The majority of these lower paid jobs are in fast food and chain restaurants, bars, catering, or contract food service operations, hotels and motels, amusement parks, gambling and recreation establishments, educational services, nursing care facilities, and civic and social organizations.