Service Workers' Tips Sliding Away

The Harford Courant reports:

The restaurant industry in the U.S. employs 13.1 million people, making it the nation's third-largest employer, behind the federal government and the health-care industry, says the National Restaurant Association, a trade organization.

Many others work for car washes, nail salons, taxi companies and in other jobs in which tips play a role in their wages.

The slowdown in tips is another blow for increasingly squeezed service workers who often don't have much of a cushion to fall back on when times get tough. Some restaurants have closed down in recent months or have begun scaling back and laying off employees.

Other industries face similar pressures.