The outlook for continued restaurant job growth is increasingly optimistic, according to the National Restaurant Association’s May 2014 Tracking Survey. Twenty-five percent of restaurant operators said they expect to employ more people in six months than they did during the same period in the previous year, while 10 percent of operators plan to cut positions in six months.

In addition to representing a two-year high in the proportion of restaurant operators anticipating staffing gains, it was also the strongest net increase (up 15 percentage points) in expected job growth since May 2012.

In the survey, 16 percent of operators said recruiting and retaining employees is the number-one challenge currently facing their business — the highest level since February 2008 — after averaging just five percent of survey respondents during the challenging economic environment of the last five years.

According to the association, both full-service and quick-service operators are reporting plans to expand staffing levels, which suggests that restaurant industry job growth will continue to be broad-based in the months ahead.