The US restaurant industry is a highly developed and rapidly growing industry segment and the largest employer outside the government. The nation's nine hundred thousand restaurants represent a spectrum from full-service restaurants to cafeterias and bars. Each segment is predicted to post the highest sales growth for the year 2006.

The restaurant industry exerts an enormous positive influence on the national economy, bringing a huge income and creating new jobs; hence, it is a matter of a great importance and significance to study its potential development and creating new opportunities for its growth.

The National Restaurant Association is a major researcher and expert in the US restaurant industry that forecasts the industry's prospects of development and growth for each year to come. It provides extensive analysis and emphasizes the role of the restaurant industry for the economic health of the nation, thus promoting the future expansion and improvement. The Association offers expertise to each state restaurant association, including the leading New York Restaurant Association, Washington Restaurant Association and Oregon Restaurant Association.

What happens this year? Today, the restaurant industry generates a total economic impact of one point three trillion dollars a year, about ten percent of the US gross domestic product. In 1970, the industry sales were forty two point eight million in 1996, these reached three hundred and eight point two; in 2006, the sales are projected to reach five hundred and eleven billion.

The restaurant industry employs twelve point five million people, whereas nine of ten salaried employees started as hourly employees and most restaurant owners of today started in entry-level jobs, such as a dishwasher, a cook and a server. This index is very important not only for the national economy and for employment rates, but also for each job seeker as more opportunities appear for the career building.

The National Restaurant Association conducts a comprehensive analysis of each state restaurant industry's present and future. According to the forecasts, the Oregon restaurant industry is expected to see sixteen point nine percent job growth through the years 2006-2016 that will be twenty seven thousand and one hundred new jobs plus one hundred and sixty thousand four hundred already existing opportunities.

Washington restaurants are expected to have two hundred and fifty five thousand hospitality jobs by the end of 2006 and increase this number up to three hundred and one thousand seven hundred by 2016. The New York restaurant employment will increase from six hundred and forty seven thousand four hundred up to six hundred and ninety eight thousand three hundred throughout 2006-2016.

Totally, the restaurant industry provides work for more than nine percent of those employed in the United States that is equal to twelve point five million people. It is expected that one point nine million jobs will be added by 2016 for the total employment of fourteen point four million. All figures emphasize that the restaurant industry is among the strongest job-creators in the economy of the United States.

Wages grow parallel to job adding. Today, the yearnings of non-supervisory restaurant employees are considerably higher than the national average and are considered to grow more. From February 2005 and February 2006, the average hourly earnings of non-supervisory eating and drinking place employees increased four point seven percent, while the average hourly earnings of total private sector non-supervisory employees increased three point five percent.