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- Fast-food chains employ 3.3 million workers. The average wage is $13.53 an hour.
- A majority of fast-food workers are females. The average age is 26.4 years old.
- Fast-food workers prioritize convenience and personal development over pay, especially Gen Z.
Delivering Domino's pizza or flipping burgers at McDonald's has been a rite of passage for teenagers for decades.
Teens and young adults remain a go-to workforce for the fast-food industry, which employs more than 3.3 million workers in the US. But over the last five years, the average age of a fast-food worker is inching upward.
As of 2021, the average age had risen to 26.4 years, according to market research firm Datawheel. That's up from an average age of 24 years in 2018, according to Cornell University data.
About 64% of fast-food workers in 2021 were female, while 36% were male, Datawheel said. In 2021, 20.8% of fast-food workers workers were Hispanic and 79.2% non-Hispanic, the data firm said.
According to federal labor data as of May 2022. the average hourly wage for fast-food workers was $13.53. That's up from $11.80 in 2020.
Average wages tracked by restaurant hiring platform Landed are slightly higher, at $14.66 an hour, the company told Business Insider.
Landed is a food tech startup that helps fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Popeyes, Wendy's, Starbucks, Cava, Chick-fil-A, and Dave's Hot Chicken screen and hire workers. The company has more than 1 million hourly workers on its platform.
Landed CEO Vivian Wang told Business Insider that most fast-food chains still rely on a teen and young adult workforce, many of whom tend to be women.
Gen Z fast-food workers tend to flee faster —in the first 90 days
Most fast-food workers stick around for 1.7 years, according to Gitnux, a market data website that tracks industry trends, statistics, and business data.
Wang said the average tenure might be just under two years but she emphasized that there's a high turnover rate in the industry, especially among Gen Z workers.
"A lot of the turnover happens within the first 90 days," she said.
She said the average turnover rate in fast food is about 120%.
But for Gen Z, "we're looking at closer to 180%," Wang said.
"They're jumping around a lot more," Wang said. "There's not necessarily a ton of brand loyalty to where they work."
Fast-food workers prioritize convenience and personal development over pay
As such, she said fast-food employers are thinking more strategically about accommodating Gen Z workers, who are more adept at working in a tech-forward environment.
That's crucial for restaurant owners, as fast-food chains increasingly turn to kitchen automation, mobile apps, and kiosks to streamline operations.
"A lot of these brands are digitizing significantly," Wang said. "They are looking for people to work the systems."
She said chains can establish more loyalty among Gen Z workers by offering them perks such as development training and college tuition coverage.
While money is a factor when taking a job, it's not the number-one priority for the average fast-food worker, Wang said.
She said fast-food workers of all ages surveyed by Landed prioritize convenience and personal development over pay. That's especially true for Gen Z workers.
"Not every Gen Z wants to be in the hospitality industry forever," Wang said.
But they want a job where they can "develop skills" to apply to their ultimate career.
"Everyone is very empowered nowadays," she said of Gen Z. "They know that there are always opportunities out there."