Foodservice Industry Facts and Myths

Foodservice is a people-driven industry, requiring the talents and skills of many individuals, from waitstaff to skilled chefs to entrepreneurs and executives.

Unlike other industries where innovation can lead to layoffs and cutbacks, innovation in the foodservice industry has a positive effect on jobs, fuelling a constant expansion in jobs and creating employment for more than one million Canadians.

		More people work in the foodservice industry than in agriculture; forestry, pulp and paper; banking; and motor parts and vehicle manufacturing combined.
		Every $1 million spent in the foodservice industry creates an additional 34.5 new jobs in the foodservice industry and other areas of the economy.
		Every dollar spent in a restaurant generates an additional $1.78 in spending in the rest of the economy, compared to $1.50 for retail trade industries.
		Foodservice employment in Canada averaged 2.0% growth per year between 1988 and 2002. If this trend continues, the foodservice industry will reach the two million employee mark in the year 2036.