Explore how the US hospitality sector is sustaining growth while navigating a generational workforce shift and a cooling hiring environment. From accommodation to food and beverage, discover the key trends shaping staffing, wages, and the future of hospitality operations.
TRUSTED BY 390,000+ WORKPLACES ACROSS THE GLOBE
TRUSTED BY 390,000+ WORKPLACES ACROSS THE GLOBE
This report covers:
How hospitality employment has grown since 2022; which segments led and where momentum is softening
Why 84.8% of hospitality shift workers are Gen Z and what that means for scheduling, retention, and workforce design
What's behind the 19% gender pay gap and how wage dynamics are shifting across hospitality roles
Where hospitality growth is strongest geographically and the regulatory and policy forces shaping 2026
Report sneak peek
The US hospitality sector has grown 12% since 2022, one of the strongest recoveries of any shift-based industry. Accommodation led the expansion at 16%, bars grew 13%, and sit-down restaurants expanded 8%. But growth momentum flattened in the second half of 2025, and hiring has quietly cooled to below 1% vacancy growth as operators wait for clearer signals from consumer sentiment.
What makes hospitality's story distinct is the workforce behind the recovery. Gen Z now represents 84.8% of all hospitality shift workers—the highest generational concentration of any industry. Yet despite the hiring slowdown, worker sentiment rose 7% in 2025, the largest increase across all shift-based industries. Understanding what's driving that resilience, and what threatens it, is what this report is for.
Join over 385,000 workplaces scheduling on Deputy.
TRUSTED BY 390,000+ WORKPLACES ACROSS THE GLOBE
