Hospitality is the second most badly hit sector after health and social care and restaurants throughout the country are struggling to find staff.
The UK’s third largest private sector employer accounts for 10 per cent of employment and 5 per cent of national gross domestic product but had 134,000 vacancies this autumn.
The sector remains “in peril” according to the industry’s trade body, despite increased spending per customer since pandemic restrictions eased over the summer. Thousands of European workers have left because of Brexit while others have sought work in more stable sectors. And although many were covered by the government’s furlough scheme, this did not cover tips, leaving many workers with significantly lower earnings.
Labour shortages, including the current dearth of HGV drivers, are likely to affect British supply chains for “a couple of years, assuming that wages increase and more people come into the industry,” says Andy Prendergast, national secretary at UK trade union GMB.
The country currently has more than a million job vacancies, topped by the health and social care sector with 172,000 posts on offer. Adult social care, where inadequate public funding exacerbates problems of low pay, is particularly badly affected.
