UKHospitality: 'Skills and employment strategy would be significant in realising sector's potential'

The trade body was commenting after new employment figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that vacancies in accommodation and food service activities fell by 15,000 between July and September 2022, falling from a record 173,000 vacancies in the previous quarter (April to June) to 158,000.

“Hospitality businesses have taken significant steps to attract new employees with higher wages, attractive training and development opportunities and flexible working practices, and this drop in vacancy numbers shows this work is beginning to pay off,” says Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality. 

“Despite this decrease, there are still significant vacancies, stifling our ability to drive growth. There is still work to do and we continue to hear from businesses about how recruitment challenges are putting the brakes on recovery.

Nicholls adds that steps from the Government such as ensuring skills and recruitment initiatives are open to all sectors, a comprehensive employment and skills strategy, and making the Skilled Worker Visa route more streamlined and affordable would be significant in realising hospitality’s potential to drive economic growth and value to the economy.

Total unemployment in the UK fell to 3.5% in the three months to August from a previous level of 3.8%, dropping to the lowest level since February 1974.

However, the fall in the headline rate came amid a sharp rise in the number of working-age adults classified by statisticians as 'economically inactive', meaning they are neither employed nor looking for work.

“The unemployment rate continues to fall and is now at its lowest for almost 50 years, says David Freeman, ONS head of labour market and household statistics.

“However, the number of people neither working nor looking for work continues to rise, with those who say this is because they’re long-term sick reaching a record level.

“While the number of job vacancies remains high after its long period of rapid growth, it has now dropped back a little, with a number of employers telling us they’ve reduced recruitment due to a variety of economic pressures.

“However, because unemployment is also down, there continues to be more vacancies than unemployed people.”