Foodie Money
The top food economy in all of America? That's Texas, of course
Feel like there has been a new restaurant opening in town practically every week over the past few years?
That inkling was validated by a recent analysis published by the National Restaurant Association, which points to the dining industry as a "bright spot" in the economic recovery, standing out as the third largest private sector job creator and adding positions at more than double the rate of the overall economy.
The report counts 82,200 added restaurant jobs in the Lone Star State, far surpassing California's 63,200 jobs and New York's 52,300.
What's more, the NRA analysis indicates Texas as the leader among the states in food service industry employment growth — bolstered, surely, by our tendency to eat out (Houston topped Zagat's list last year of meals eaten out per week, followed by Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio).
Out of 645,000 restaurant jobs that have been added nationwide since the beginning of the recovery in March 2010, the report counts 82,200 added restaurant jobs in the Lone Star State, far surpassing California's 63,200 jobs and New York's 52,300.
Texas saw a 10.2 percent growth during the two-year period between August 2010 and August 2012, and those jobs aren't expected to run out anytime soon: The NRA "projects that the restaurant industry nationwide will add 1.4 million positions in the next decade."
Go on, do your part for the food economy and visit one of our 10 must-try restaurants for October.
