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2025 State of the Hourly Workforce Report: Restaurant Edition
Real Data. Real Insights. Coming this June.
2025: State of the Restaurant Hourly Workforce Report Key Findings
In today's climate of economic uncertainty, restaurant operators face mounting pressure to control costs without sacrificing service. With large hourly workforces, success hinges optimizing labor spend, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring every labor hour directly contributes to sales and guest experience.
To better understand the challenges—and provide data-backed strategies to address them—Legion commissioned the 2025 State of the Restaurant Hourly Workforce Report, surveying over 500 hourly employees and 380 managers across the industry.
The report reveals key trends shaping the hourly workforce and actionable insights to help employers stay competitive in a rapidly evolving labor landscape.
500+
Hourly Restaurant Employees Surveyed
380
Restaurant Managers Surveyed
What Employees Want
More than 55% of hourly workers plan to quit in the next year and 59% plan to leave the restaurant industry.
62%
want flexibility to pick up extra shifts and swap shifts
46%
want greater recognition and rewards
34%
say instant access to earned wages is a key factor in retention
What Managers Need
Managers are burdened with routine administrative tasks which hurts productivity.
66%
spend between 3-10+ hours/week on scheduling
52%
believe AI could make scheduling easier
#1
task managers wish to be intelligently automated is scheduling
What Restaurant Execs Can Do
In response to the economic challenges, many are considering raising prices or cutting staff. However raising prices risks alienating inflation-weary consumers, and cutting frontline staff threatens service quality and sales. Restaurant executives need an alternative strategy to protect margins without slashing headcount or pushing prices higher. This is where advanced workforce management technology can offer a lifeline. Sign up now to be among the first to receive a copy of the report.
- Leverage AI to boost efficiency and productivity to do more with existing teams
- Improve retention rates by providing frontline employees with what they care about most: schedule flexibility and pay
- Improve manager productivity by intelligently automating repetitive tasks
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