Few indicators are more central to the foodservice outlook than employment growth. The monthly Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June was again quite positive with the net addition of 195,000 non-farm payroll workers and upward revisions of both April and May counts to 199,000 for April (from 149,000) and 195,000…

Foodservice, a subset of the leisure and hospitality employment segment, has been adding workers at a much faster pace this year than last, another possible indication that the industry is finally pulling out of the Great Foodservice Recession once and for all. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 75,000 net gain for leisure and…

Price for quality is still the leading value factor when consumers select a restaurant, but fresh ingredients and selection are close runners-up in the value equation, according to new research from the NPD Group’s foodservice practice. The new report released last month, Defining Value: Where Consumers Choose To Eat Out, looks at how different restaurant…

Want insights into the future of the restaurant industry? The National Restaurant Association has just released three new forward-looking research reports to help restaurant operators, and their suppliers, scope out the future and make more informed business decisions. The new publications contain original research and projections “critical to strategically planning for the future,” according NRA’s…

The quarterly Business Barometer maintained by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry has been expanded to detail the sales trends of six new equipment categories, subcategories under the Barometer’s existing equipment sales indicator. The six new subcategories include primary cooking equipment, refrigeration and ice machines, storage and handling equipment, serving equipment, food preparation…

The domestic economy is looking better than it has since the Great Recession began in 2008, according to economist Arjun Chakravarti, but there remain significant risk factors. And the gradually improving economic situation of many Americans should lead to the continuation of moderate foodservice sales growth over the next 18 months, said Technomic Pres. Ron…

Only three of the 10 major foodservice markets tracked by The NPD Group’s CREST studies managed traffic growth in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the first quarter last year, the research firm reports, as recessionary conditions in Europe continued to impact foodservice there. Canada, Australia and China were the only countries to see…

Maybe the much expected increases in food prices have finally arrived. Overall food prices at the wholesale level jumped 1% in May, according to calculations by the National Restaurant Association, the largest monthly gain since last November and the first gain in three months. The Producer Price Index data, from which the wholesale food price…

Restaurant operators are apparently getting over the jitters many had in the first quarter. Fueled by gains in all four components of the Expectations Index, as well as improved current same-store sales and traffic, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index rose for the second straight month, according the April report released May 31. The…

In spite of inclement weather and an atypical surge in gasoline prices in the first quarter this year, restaurant traffic was even with the first quarter 2012, according the latest data from The NPD Group. The research firm reported a 2% increase in spending at U.S. restaurants during the period. The group also said it…