Most employees in the U.S. food system are linked to food services

Employees work throughout the U.S. food supply chain, but primarily in food services, food wholesaling and retailing, and food processing. Food services—i.e., the activities associated with preparing and serving food—accounted for 51.5 percent of employment within the U.S. food system in 2023, up from 47.6 percent in 2010. Food wholesale and retail activities include storing and preserving food for transport or purchase. The share of U.S. food system employment linked to food wholesaling and retailing fell less than a percentage point to 24.7 percent in 2023 from 25.4 percent in 2010, the start of the data series. The food processing stage of the supply chain includes any activities associated with transforming foodstuffs in preparation for market, such as processing fresh tomatoes into tomato sauce. The food processing stage’s share of the food system’s employment remained relatively constant, ranging from 8.7 percent to 10.0 percent, over the period. The remaining supply chain stages not shown in the chart, such as crops or livestock, each accounted for less than 5 percent of food-system employment annually between 2010 and 2023. These estimates are from the recently launched Resource Requirements of Food Demand (RRFD) data product and discussed in a recorded webinar. RRFD measures the U.S. food system’s use of employment, water, and energy across marketing channels, supply chain stages, and food and beverage categories. This chart is drawn from USDA, Economic Research Service’s RRFD data product, updated March 2026.