Employment Levels at State Bars and Restaurants Return to Pre-COVID Levels

Tuesday, June 4th, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

(Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Wisconsin's bars and restaurants continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating economic effects, but some of the impacts still linger, according to Tom Daykin with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

That's according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy research group based in Milwaukee and Madison. "After a long and slow recovery, employment in Wisconsin’s restaurants and bars has finally returned topre-pandemic levels," the report said.

The most recent federal estimates show 203,700 workers employed in those businesses in February. That compares to 202,800 in February 2020. The report notes restaurant and bar employment peaks in the summer.

Employment last peaked at 218,100 in August 2023, which was still short of the pre-pandemic high of 219,200 in August 2019. The forum last assessed the industry's state of recovery in September 2021.

It found an overall rebound at that time, but the number of people Wisconsin restaurants and taverns employed remained down by roughly 9% compared to the period before the pandemic struck in March 2020.

The latest report's primary data sources are the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and the National Restaurant Association. Wisconsin sales tax collections show revenue generated by restaurants and bars statewide totaled more than $578 million in 2023, 17.3% higher than in 2019.

However, that lagged the pace of inflation (19.2% for that period). Median annual wages for employees in food preparation and serving occupations increased 4.2% in 2023, which matched the pace of growth for all occupations. That compares to 29.8% growth between 2019 and 2022.

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