The PayScale Index (US): Trends in Compensation

2012: Wages in the food services and accommodation industry failed to gain any ground in Q1 2012, still down from their recession-era losses. Even more sour news is the fact that this industry experienced the only negative annual wage growth among industries tracked by The PayScale Index, down 0.2 percent year-over-year.

2007-2011: When budgets get lean, eating out and traveling are often the first expenditures to go. In December 2007, when the recession started, food services and accommodation wages were some of the first to drop. Unlike the overall national trend, this industry hit its peak in Q2 2008, earlier than most other industries.

In the following years, wages for food services and accommodation industry workers slid downward then held steady, gaining and losing ground through the end of 2011. Earnings in this industry have a long way to go to catch up with national trends.

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The food services and accommodation industry (72), as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), includes the following: hotels, bed-and-breakfast inns, RV (recreational vehicle) parks and campgrounds, full-service restaurants, cafeterias, caterers. View the full definition on Census.gov.

The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.

See full methodology for compensation trend reports.

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