The PayScale Index (US): Trends in Compensation

2012: Wages for food service and restaurant jobs remained frozen in Q1 2012. With a quarter-over-quarter decline of 0.1 percent, wages for these jobs ended up about 0.6 percent below their 2006 levels.

2007-2011: The recession for chefs, waiters, and other food service workers started early. Wages barely grew in 2007, with the year ending only about 1 percent up over 2006, and more than 2 percent below the national wage trend. The same pattern continued, with wages increasing little in 2008. The only bright spot was that the downturn in early 2009 for food service and restaurant job wages was no worse than the national average. From mid-2009 through 2011, wages were basically flat, with only a brief increase, followed by a decrease, in late 2011.

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The food service and restaurant (SOC Codes 11-9050.00 Food Service Managers; 35-0000.00 Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations) jobs category contains all the workers who prepare and serve food and drinks, and clean up afterward. From private chefs and cocktail waitresses to dishwashers and fast food counter workers, these professionals can be found in a variety of industries, but predominantly in the food services and accommodation industry.

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) system is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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.

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