By Dina Berta

DALLAS (April 27, 2009) The employment picture is brightening for the restaurant industry, according to the most recent People Report Workforce Index.

The more than 80 restaurant companies that participated in the most recent survey said they are expecting to hire more employees or maintain their current staffing levels in the second quarter of 2009, signifying expected job growth in the industry and signs that an economic recovery may be on its way, said People Report officials.

"Couple that with some other things, such as the decline in job losses, and it looks like the worst is behind us," said People Report analyst Michael Harms. Dallas-based People Report studies the human resources practices of its member companies.

The index revealed that after posting job losses of 27,000 in November and 25,000 in December, the foodservice industry shed only 9,000 jobs in March.

Employment expectations among operators who participated in the survey rose to 55.4 for the current second quarter. With the exception of fine dining, all industry segments experienced an increase in employment expectations, with 26 percent of companies saying they expected to add hourly positions and 61 percent saying they would maintain their current staffing levels. At the management level, 20 percent said they expected to add staff, and 64 percent said they anticipated no change.

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