Florida restaurants are expected to lose 14,500 jobs this summer season, a 2.5 percent decline over the March 2010 employment level, according to the National Restaurant Association projections released on Monday. In March 2010, the restaurant industry employed 579,100 persons and this is projected to decline to 564,600.
The only other state projected to lose restaurant jobs is Arizona, where some 2,800 jobs are likely to be lost. Arizona employed 186,600 in the industry in March, which will likely decline to 183,800 by the summer.
Nationally, restaurants are expected to add 428,000 jobs this summer, an increase of 4.6 percent from March employment level. The states projected to add the most eating and drinking place jobs during the 2010 summer season are New York (38,300), California (30,400), Texas (28,100), Massachusetts (24,800), New Jersey (24,600), Illinois (19,900), Ohio (19,800) and Michigan (18,600).
