The National Restaurant Association's chief economist Bruce Grindy breaks down the latest employment trends:

“Despite the challenging winter weather conditions in parts of the country, restaurants continued to add jobs at a robust pace in February, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Eating and drinking places added a net 58,700 jobs in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, their 60th consecutive monthly increase and strongest gain since December 2012.

“Combined with the solid gains in December (54,500) and January (37,400), eating and drinking places added more than 150,000 jobs during the last three months alone. If these figures hold through revisions, it would represent the restaurant industry’s strongest three-month payroll expansion on record.

“The extreme weather didn’t appear to dampen the overall labor market’s momentum either, as the economy exceeded expectations by adding a net 295,000 jobs in February. Total U.S. employment rose by nearly 3.3 million jobs during the last 12 months, which marks the largest 12-month gain in nearly 15 years.

“Looking ahead, the NRA expects eating and drinking places to add jobs at a 3.4 percent rate in 2015, which will mark the sector’s fourth consecutive year with job growth of at least 3 percent. It will also represent the 16th consecutive year in which the restaurant industry will outpace total U.S. job growth, which is projected to come in at 2.3 percent in 2015.”