Rising tip reliance

Restaurant workers in Washington rely heavily on tips, which account for 26% of their total wages — slightly higher than the national average, per data out last week from Square, the payments company.

Why it matters: The rise of tipping culture means that servers and bartenders are getting tipped more frequently for services — like takeout orders — that used to go without gratuities.

Zoom in: The average tip left for workers in Washington was 15%, according to Square's report, which examines payroll data.

Zoom out: Nationally, tips made up 23% of restaurant worker pay in October— up from 14% in 2019.

The big picture: The restaurant business fell off a cliff in the pandemic, but it bounced back fast. Americans went back to dining out, and restaurants scrambled to hire, driving up wages and prices.

• In recent months, the industry has seen a slowdown.
• But overall, restaurants have seen an increase in sales volume over the post-pandemic years that has translated into more customers per hour — and more tips, says Ara Kharazian, research lead at Square.

Reality check: Relying more on tips leaves workers in a more precarious position.

• "If you're a restaurant worker who's already in an industry subject to a lot of ups and downs, a large component of your income coming from tips isn't gonna simplify that," says Kharazian.

Between the lines: One of President-elect Trump's more popular campaign proposals was to eliminate taxes on tips.

• Looking at this data, that would mean exempting nearly a quarter of restaurant workers' income from taxes — a meaningful chunk.