From 2016 to 2017, sales of the United States restaurant industry were forecasted to increase by 1.7 percent, down from a 2.1 percent increase from the previous year.

Restaurant industry sales figures

The restaurant industry in the United States typically constitutes of two distinct restaurant types - full-service and quick-service. Food and drink sales of full-service restaurants were forecasted to reach over 260 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, making it the restaurant type with the highest sales in the industry. Comparatively, sales of quick-service restaurants were forecasted to amount to around 234 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the total food and drink sales in the U.S. restaurant industry were forecasted to amount to nearly 800 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, compared to approximately 766 billion one year earlier. The biggest contributor to the industry in terms of food and drink sales in the United States is McDonald’s, with sales of more than 38 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

Do higher sales mean more jobs?

Restaurants in the U.S. have established a flourishing industry that, besides being profitable for businesses, has also created many jobs. The number of people employed in the U.S. restaurant industry reached to 13.37 million as of May 2018.

As of 2018, the restaurants had a sales volume growth of 3.6 percent, whereas fast services saw the sales volume increase with nearly six percent. Furthermore, it is forecasted that fast services will see the highest increase in sales volume with three percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2020.

The restaurant sector encompasses several sub-branches, such as traditional, mobile, and fast-food restaurants. In France, the number of establishments operating in this sector remained fairly stable between 2015 and 2018. After a downward trend in 2016 and 2017, figures rose again in 2018, with a number of establishments amounting to *******.

In 2018, the restaurant landscape in Mexico was constituted mostly by micro and small-sized establishments. That same year, the quarterly expenditure on food service in the North American country totaled **** billion Mexican pesos.

In 2022, the total retail sales of the food service market in China amounted to approximately *** billion U.S. dollars. The largest proportion of it, around ** percent, was covered by the full-service restaurants with the retail sales value of ***** billion U.S. dollars that year.

In France, the number of people working in food service varied between 2015 and 2018. After experiencing an upward trend from 2015 and 2017, where figures rose from ******* to ******* employees, that sector underwent a decrease in its number of employees, reaching ******* people employed in 2018. In one year, the restaurant industry lost more than ****** full-time employees.

This statistic shows the number of employees in the United States fast food restaurant industry from 2004 to 2018. In 2013, there were **** million fast food restaurant employees in the U.S. This figure was forecasted to reach almost *** million by 2018.

Employees in the fast food industry - additional information

The number of employees in the United States fast food industry remained fairly steady over the last decade. Although, slight growth is expected between 2014 and 2018 - like the revenue of the U.S. fast food industry which is expected to continue to grow to at least 2020.

The total wages paid in the U.S. fast food industry was forecasted to reach 51 billion U.S. dollars by 2018. The average annual wage for a fast food industry employee was also expected to grow to reach **** thousand U.S. dollars in that same year. According to the Social Security Administration, the average national wage in the same year was ***** thousand U.S. dollars – almost three and half times higher than that of a fast food worker. The average revenue per fast food employee was ****** U.S. dollars.

The world-renowned fast food chain McDonald’s employed approximately ******* people worldwide in 2013. Another well-known company, Yum! Brands Inc., which includes the chains KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, had approximately ******* employees in 2013, around ** percent of whom were employed part-time.

In 2020, the number of restaurants in Thailand grew by ** percent from the previous year. In that same year, there were approximately *** thousand restaurants in the country.

In 2018, restaurants that served a type of affordable lunch menus known as comida corrida, along with à la carte-restaurants in Mexico generated a revenue of nearly *** billion Mexican pesos. Meanwhile, the revenue of tacos and tortas establishments — two typical Mexican dishes — amounted to ** billion Mexican pesos that same year.

In 2020, the restaurant market value in Thailand was estimated to amount to around ****** billion Thai baht. Such value was forecast to reach around *** billion Thai baht in 2021, which would indicate approximately *** percent annual growth.

The size of the global food service market reached 2.52 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021. This figure was forecast to grow to 4.43 trillion U.S. dollars in 2028, showing a CAGR of 9.9 percent from 2021 to 2028.

In 2024, the market size of freshly made beverage venues in China increased by around **** percent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, when it came to the growth of the number of venues, Chinese cuisine restaurants were expanding the fastest in 2024.

In 2018, restaurants were the largest subsector in the foodservice industry with a sales value of approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The restaurants subsector is expected to reach approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. MENA food industry overview The consumer foodservice industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is witnessing several fast-paced changes. There is a general shift towards chained businesses from traditional independent ones. At the same time, dining, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops are focusing more on providing a unique food experience that includes a distinct atmosphere and ambiance. The fast-food industry witnessed more than ** percent of the food retail growth of the region in 2019. Additionally, health and wellness trends in menus are being increasingly adopted offering items such as organic burgers or grilled chicken instead of fried. On the other hand, delivery services are also seeing an expansion as more and more consumers look for convenience. The highest growth rate of the food delivery service industry in 2020 was in Saudi Arabia at more than *** percent. UAE food industry trends   In the UAE, the consumer foodservice market observed growth in fast and casual services. In the first quarter of 2021, Talabat had more than ** percent of the market share of food delivery services in the country with an average order value of ** U.S. dollars. In 2015, there was a significant increase in the number of fast-casual restaurants compared to the previous year. The number of fast-food restaurants in the UAE in 2018 was almost triple the number of full-service restaurants. With regards to cuisine, top performers included restaurants offering Levantine, Indian, or Italian cuisines, as local tastes continue to shift toward these segments. Having said that, low-income workers in the country living in shared accommodation, with limited kitchen facilities turn to cheap dining. This has led to a boom in restaurants with competitive prices in areas with a high percentage of this consumer segment. An example of a success story focused on this target audience is the chain Karachi Darbar.

This statistic presents the number of employees in food and beverage serving establishments in Greece from 2010 to 2018. The number of employees in such enterprises increased from approximately ***** thousand in 2013 to approximately ***** thousand in 2018.

In 2018, within the restaurant subsector, fast food restaurants had the largest sales value in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at approximately *** billion U.S. dollars. Fast food restaurants were expected to reach a sales value of approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, followed by full service restaurants at a sales value of approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

As of the first quarter of 2018, casual dining restaurants located in high streets made up around ** percent of all restaurants in Bangalore. Casual dining restaurants usually provide table service and serve moderately priced food.

As of the first quarter of 2021, the revenue index of the restaurant industry in the Netherlands amounted to 41.2 (index 2015=100). This is a decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year, when the revenue index was 93.9. By the third quarter of 2021, the revenue of the Dutch restaurant industry increased significantly, with the revenue index standing at 146.4.

Increase in number of restaurants

As of 2018, the total number of restaurants in the Netherlands totaled over 15,500. This was an increase of roughly 600 restaurants compared to the previous year. Observing the leading full-service restaurants in the Netherlands, Van der Valk had a turnover of 658 million U.S. dollars and led the ranking. Landal Greenpark, an accommodation provider similar to Centerparcs, saw the turnover of their restaurants amount to a total of 361 million euros.

Number of jobs in the restaurant industry

The number of jobs in the restaurant and café industry in Amsterdam increased year-by-year in the period between 2010 and 2018. In 2010, approximately 24,500 jobs were registered within the industry and as of 2018, this grew to a total of 35,632 jobs.

This statistic displays the year-on-year change in total sales of managed pub and restaurant groups in the United Kingdom monthly from January 2018 to March 2019. According to the Coffer Peach Tracker, total sales of pub and restaurant groups in the UK grew by *** percent in March 2019.

In 2023, the total number of restaurant businesses in Thailand amounted to around *******. In that year, more than ** percent of the country's restaurant businesses were located in Bangkok.

In 2018, the number of enterprises in the restaurants and mobile food service activities industry in the European Union (EU-28) numbered approximately 890,000. France, Italy and Germany each acounted for over 130,000 restaurants and mobile food services. Over 161,000 of these operated in France in 2018.