UK’s hospitality sector has suffered more than half of all job losses since budget, say bosses
Of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, almost 89,000 have been in hospitality.
This is according to a new analysis of jobs data by UKHospitality reveals that hospitality has accounted for 53% of all job losses in the UK since the Budget, confirming the sector is the hardest hit by tax increases.
The scale of job losses is three times worse than estimated by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which predicted 50,000 job losses as a direct result of changes to employer NICs, the group said.
The data also shows:
- The percentage of job losses within hospitality, as a proportion of its total workforce, is seven times larger than the rate of the wider UK economy.
- One in 25 jobs in hospitality have been lost – representing 4.1% of all jobs in the sector.
The group is now calling for urgent action during the budget this autumn, including lowering business rates, fixing NICs, and cutting VAT to stop hospitality businesses being taxed out and to reverse the damage done by increased taxes.
“The number of job losses suffered in hospitality since the Budget is staggering,” said Kate Nicholls (Chair of UKHospitality).
“More than half of all job losses since October occurring in hospitality is further evidence that our sector has been by far the hardest hit by the government’s regressive tax increases,” she said.
Nicholls said that the sheer scale of costs being placed upon hospitality has forced businesses to take agonisingly tough decisions to cut jobs, with part-time and flexible roles often those most at risk.
“At a time when the country needs jobs, the Government should be encouraging hospitality to grow and create jobs, not tax them out of existence.
“The Government needs to recognise the devastating impact of its tax increases on working people and communities across the country. It should take action at the Budget to reverse this damage by lowering business rates, fixing NICs, and cutting VAT,” she said.
