Following 29 consecutive months of job growth, the restaurant industry saw a drop in June. Employment gains stopped after adding more than 2.5 million jobs, according to research from the National Restaurant Association.

The association also revised its estimates of job gains in April and May. In the year’s second quarter, the industry added 27,300 jobs, fewer than first thought.

All of this adds up to fewer jobs than before the coronavirus pandemic. But restaurants are still looking to hire.

At the end of May, there were nearly 1.2 million job openings in the restaurants and accommodations industries, according to the BLS. It was the 26th consecutive month when there were at least 1 million openings. That compares to an average of 875,000 job openings each month pre-pandemic.

The National Restaurant Association noted that retailers, which typically compete with restaurants for employees, had more than 800,000 openings in May.

Restaurants’ June sales were unchanged from May’s. But June 2023 sales rose 8.4% over June 2022, largely due to higher menu prices. When adjusted for inflation, sales rose only 0.7% in that period, as calculated by the National Restaurant Association.

Steeper menu prices are expected to help the food service industry gain $997 billion in sales by the end of 2023. A restaurant meal was 7.7% more expensive in June 2023 than a year earlier.

As for restaurant employment, the National Restaurant Association predicts that it will continue to grow for 2023, outpacing 2022, to meet the demand.

Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close.

This story originally appeared on Next Insurance and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.