---
title: "Labor Crisis Persists as Restaurants Remain 750,000 Workers Short of Pre-COVID Levels"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/8ac846a9-2769-495e-87aa-033c9b691cb7
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/labor-crisis-persists-as-restaurants-remain-750000-workers-short-of-pre-covid-levels-2717398
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2021-12-07T13:08:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:12:21.840Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/9ef95d688954a222818e632587076cb07590.jpg
---

# Labor Crisis Persists as Restaurants Remain 750,000 Workers Short of Pre-COVID Levels

**TL;DR:** The restaurant industry remains 750,000 workers short of pre-COVID levels, with the Independent Restaurant Coalition urging the replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The industry faces labor shortages, debt, rising food costs, and consumer hesitancy due to the omicron variant.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-12-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/labor-crisis-persists-as-restaurants-remain-750000-workers-short-of-pre-covid-levels-2717398).*

## Story

The Bureau of Labor Statistics November job report found that the restaurant industry is down more than 750,000 jobs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The jobs report showed that dining establishments gained 11,000 jobs in November.

QSR Magazine said the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) urged the importance of replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund that has left approximately 177,000 restaurants without aid.

Overall, jobs in the U.S. rose by 210,000 in November with a national unemployment rate of 4.2%, down 0.4% from October.

“Tens of thousands of restaurants are in danger of closing permanently, leaving hundreds of thousands of jobs unfilled this winter,” Erika Polmar, executive director of the IRC, said in a statement. “Slow growth for restaurant and bar jobs in today’s employment report shows that we can’t build back better without a vibrant restaurant industry.”

Labor shortages are just the tip of the iceberg for a struggling industry as restaurants face debt, rising food costs and consumer hesitancy stemming from the omicron variant. QSR Magazine reported that food costs have increased 57% for beef, 55% for grains and 41.5% for shortening and cooking oil.

The IRC reported that more than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed permanently or long-term since the onset of the pandemic. Those in the restaurant industry are pushing for funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act and the The ENTRÉE Act, each of which would give $60 billion in funding to the country’s restaurants.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- QSR Magazine (publication)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (regulator)
- covid impact (topic)
- labor crisis (topic)
- funding relief (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/labor-crisis-persists-as-restaurants-remain-750000-workers-short-of-pre-covid-levels-2717398). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8ac846a9-2769-495e-87aa-033c9b691cb7).