Eating and drinking places added a net 38,000 jobs in December, their second-strongest monthly gain of 2012. Restaurants continued to add jobs at a robust pace in December, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and reported on by Bruce Grindy, the National Restaurant Association. Eating and drinking places, defined as the primary component of the restaurant industry and which accounts for roughly three-fourths of the total restaurant and food-service workforce, added a net 38,000 jobs in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis. December’s solid hiring output was the second-strongest gain of the year next to August 2012.