Restaurants Offer Better Pay and Perks to Combat Tight Job Market

With higher quit rates and lower unemployment than ever before, restaurant executives are looking for new ways to keep food service workers around. According to an article on The Wall Street Journal, restaurants are finding fewer students and low-skilled workers willing to take the food service jobs.

A recent Harri survey of restaurant employers found that 85% reported half of their staff turning over annually.

“Many restaurants are raising pay, of their own volition or by law,” according to the article. “Nearly two dozen states and some big cities have raised minimum wages this year. The National Restaurant Association predicts restaurant wages will rise 4.7% on average this year, outpacing total private-sector growth of 3.3%.”

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. recently started giving all employees the option of receiving their pay in more regular increments than bi-monthly checks. Marna Killian, a human-resources executive at the Tampa, Fla.-based chain’s parent company, told WSJ that such sweeteners are necessary to compete with other employers.