Chefs and head cooks job market in Maryland
In short
In QCEW 2026 Q1, industries that employ Chefs and head cooks in Maryland had -0.6% year-over-year employment change, compared with +0.6% nationally. Establishments changed +0.1%. Average weekly wages in those industries changed +3.9%.
QCEW measures employment, wages and establishments by industry. These figures weight those industry conditions by this occupation’s published industry mix, so they are not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.
BLS QCEW sourceMethodologyNational Chefs and head cooks report
Industry employment change over time
Year-over-year change for the industries that employ Chefs and head cooks in Maryland
Every published quarter
BLS does not publish a national quarterly series for this occupation’s industry mix, so only the Maryland series is shown. The U.S. figure on the cards above is the latest quarter benchmark.
| Quarter | Maryland | State data coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | +3.5% | 100% |
| 2024 Q3 | +2.4% | 100% |
| 2024 Q4 | +2.9% | 100% |
| 2025 Q1 | +0.1% | 98.92% |
| 2025 Q2 | -0.3% | 100% |
| 2025 Q3 | -0.5% | 100% |
| 2025 Q4 | -0.3% | 100% |
| 2026 Q1 | -0.6% | 98.92% |
Industry mix behind this view
Which industries are weighted into this view. Not a ranking of employers or of job quality.
| Industry group | Share of occupation employment | Local employment change | Establishments | Avg. weekly wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure and hospitality | 83.4% | -0.6% | 16,078 | $663 |
| Private education and health services | 6.0% | +2.1% | 27,160 | $1,361 |
| Other services | 2.4% | -0.1% | 20,811 | $1,189 |
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 1.8% | -1.6% | 30,576 | $1,270 |
| Professional and business services | 1.8% | -3.4% | 55,003 | $2,203 |
| State and local | 1.2% | +1.0% | 2,620 | $1,492 |
The feed’s release date for this quarter cannot be verified as a publication date, so it is not presented as one. The data period above is the quarter the figures describe.
QCEW describes the industries that employ this occupation, not the occupation itself. It is not a count of job openings and is not part of the 0-100 Job Market Health score.
How to read this page
QCEW measures employment and wages by industry, not by occupation. We weight those industry conditions using the published industry mix for Chefs and head cooks. These figures describe the industries that employ Chefs and head cooks; they are not direct counts of people working in the occupation or of jobs currently open. This page is not part of the national 0 to 100 Job Market Health score.
Source: BLS QCEW. See the methodology, the national Chefs and head cooks report and about the data.