To survive, they've cut hours and streamlined operations
IHOP, Applebee's, Burger King and Popeyes are all at around 90% of 2019 staffing levels
Source: National Restaurant Association survey
An August survey found 65% of restaurants didn't have enough employees to meet customer demand
Some are using technology to plug the gaps
Popeyes is adding equipment that can cook faster and McDonald's is testing drive-thru voice ordering
Meanwhile, IHOP is shortening hours at a quarter of its U.S. restaurants
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hiring has improved in recent months, with eating and drinking places adding 74,100 jobs in July
But the industry is still 635,000 workers short of where it was before lockdowns began