Fast food and counter workers job market in Georgia

Name: Fast food and counter workers in Georgia: occupation-weighted industry context
Creator: JobMarketHealth

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Georgia industry employment changed 0.7 percentage points above the U.S. benchmark

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Fast food and counter workers in Georgia.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 100% · BLS QCEWCitation Evidence record

Occupation pay

What Fast food and counter workers earn in Georgia

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$26,920Georgia

Middle 50% of published wages: $22,480 – $29,640
U.S. median annual wage: $31,200
Reference period: May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around Georgia

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Fast food and counter workers, compared with the Georgia median of $26,920.

Georgia median$26,920

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$27,780+3.2% vs. state

Middle 50%$23,020 – $33,050Published employment80,730

Savannah, GA$27,460+2.0% vs. state

Middle 50%$23,020 – $29,620Published employment5,710

Chattanooga, TN-GA$27,140+0.8% vs. state

Middle 50%$23,100 – $28,580Published employment7,770

Rome, GA$26,890−0.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,620 – $28,290Published employment1,600

Brunswick-St. Simons, GA$26,770−0.6% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,580 – $29,260Published employment1,620

Gainesville, GA$26,690−0.9% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,640 – $29,580Published employment2,910

View 9 more published metro areas

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC$26,620−1.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,590 – $28,700Published employment8,710

Warner Robins, GA$26,610−1.2% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,730 – $28,640Published employment3,650

Hinesville, GA$25,210−6.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,780 – $28,280Published employment1,030

Macon-Bibb County, GA$25,000−7.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,150 – $27,980Published employment2,920

Athens-Clarke County, GA$24,220−10.0% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,210 – $27,870Published employment3,490

Dalton, GA$23,400−13.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$22,170 – $27,740Published employment1,530

Columbus, GA-AL$23,300−13.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$21,850 – $27,540Published employment4,060

Valdosta, GA$23,100−14.2% vs. state

Middle 50%$21,830 – $26,900Published employment2,380

Albany, GA$22,830−15.2% vs. state

Middle 50%$21,750 – $27,380Published employment1,790

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Georgia median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in Georgia’s weighted industry mix.

+1.3%Industry employmentGeorgia industry employmentU.S. +0.6%vs. +0.6% U.S.

+1.0%Establishments in weighted industriesGeorgia establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +2.2%vs. +2.2% U.S.

+2.5%Avg. weekly industry wageGeorgia avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +2.7% · not occupation payvs. +2.7% U.S. · not occupation pay

+0.7 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 32,685 represented establishments, 88.46% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for fast food and counter workers in Georgia

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

Leisure and hospitality has the largest positive weighted contribution

The leading industry groups examined cover 99.2% of this occupation's national industry mix. Within that comparison for Georgia in January to March 2026, Leisure and hospitality accounts for 92.1% of the positive weighted contributions, with its own employment changing +1.5% year over year. These contributions weight industry growth by the national industry mix and do not count occupation jobs created.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Published median pay is below the U.S. median

Georgia's published median annual wage for fast food and counter workers is 13.7% below the national median in OEWS May 2025. The state estimate is $26,920, compared with $31,200 across the U.S. These medians are not adjusted for living costs and do not describe every worker.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Pay differs widely between metro areas

Albany, GA and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA define the low and high ends of this published median-pay comparison for Georgia. Their estimates are $22,830 and $27,780, respectively, in OEWS May 2025; the high end is 21.7% higher. The comparison includes 14 metro areas on the same wage basis and does not measure living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Georgia industry employment over time

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values

Georgia · 2026 Q1+1.3%
U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+0.6%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value

Quarterly Georgia industry employment changes and coverage
Quarter	Georgia	Coverage
2024 Q2	+2.6%	100%
2024 Q3	+1.0%	100%
2024 Q4	+1.2%	100%
2025 Q1	+0.7%	100%
2025 Q2	+0.3%	100%
2025 Q3	+1.0%	100%
2025 Q4	+1.0%	100%
2026 Q1	+1.3%	100%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows Georgia’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters: 8
Earliest quarter: 2024 Q2
Latest quarter: 2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark: +0.6%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Fast food and counter workers Work

The occupation mix determines which Georgia industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the Georgia Fast food and counter workers context
Industry group	Occupation mix	Employment change	Establishments	Avg. weekly industry wage
Leisure and hospitality	88.4%	+1.5%	32,685	$581
Trade, transportation, and utilities	5.9%	-1.0%	69,859	$1,363
Private education and health services	3.5%	+2.9%	42,405	$1,358
Manufacturing	0.7%	-1.8%	13,482	$1,541
State and local	0.4%	+0.8%	6,775	$1,162
Information	0.4%	+2.1%	10,752	$3,263

Which industries are growing?

4 weighted industries are growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive Georgia employment change are listed.

Private education and health services+2.9%
Information+2.1%
Leisure and hospitality+1.5%
State and local+0.8%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current Georgia context

Current Georgia Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in Georgia. They are not Fast food and counter workers demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · Georgia

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

117.1Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026

+17.1%Versus the February 2020 baseline

-1.3%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index

Indeed postings index
Observation date	Index (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026	114.11
Jul 31, 2026	114.38
Aug 7, 2026	114.51
Aug 14, 2026	114.38
Aug 21, 2026	113.65
Aug 28, 2026	114.31
Sep 4, 2026	114.93
Sep 11, 2026	116.46
Sep 18, 2026	117.85
Sep 25, 2026	118.71
Oct 2, 2026	118.89
Oct 9, 2026	119.01
Oct 16, 2026	117.21
Oct 23, 2026	117.14

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide WARN notices

Georgia statewide

20 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 4, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: This is the number of WARN notices with notice dates in this period in Georgia’s official statewide list. It is a statewide count only, and does not identify any employer.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. WARN covers qualifying large layoffs and closures under applicable law, not all layoffs, and thresholds vary by state.

Technical College System of Georgia (WorkSource Georgia) About WARN data

Source last checked 2026-11-01 19:40 UTC

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Fast food and counter workers in Georgia FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Fast food and counter workers in Georgia?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Georgia industries weighted to Fast food and counter workers changed +1.3% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +0.6% nationwide.

Are wages for Fast food and counter workers rising in Georgia?

QCEW does not publish pay for Fast food and counter workers in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +2.5% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this Georgia industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Fast food and counter workers openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation: Fast food and counter workers
SOC code: 35-3023
State: Georgia
QCEW release label: QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period: 2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year: +1.3%State data coverage 100%
U.S. benchmark, year over year: +0.6%
Difference from U.S. benchmark: +0.7 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year: +1.0%State data coverage 100%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year: +2.5%State data coverage 100%
Industry mix vintage: EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date: Aug 28, 2026
Source verification: Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL: https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/fast-food-and-counter-workers/georgia#evidence-record
Derived by: JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Methodology BLS QCEW How to cite QCEW state context release, 2026 Q1

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.