According to the 2014 Barclays Employers’ Survey, 47 per cent of hotels, restaurants and pubs are planning to increase staff levels over the next 12 months, with an increased focus on senior management hires (from 20 to 27 per cent) indicating an extra focus on business growth.
Further optimism within the hospitality sector was demonstrated by the majority (69 per cent) of businesses planning to increase wages in 2014. Despite inflation and rising living costs, just over half (51 per cent) of the survey’s 684 respondents said that wage pressure from employees was not an issue.
Mike Saul, Barclays’ head of hospitality and leisure, said: “As confidence returns, it is encouraging to see that the majority of businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector are looking to increase wages in the coming year which demonstrates optimism within the industry.
“However, whilst wage rises are no doubt welcome news to employees, they will increase inflationary pressure as the year progresses.”
Unemployment falls, interest rates rise?
The Employers’ Survey results come just days after figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the UK unemployment rate has dropped to 7.1 per cent, with the number of people out of work falling by 167,000 to 2.32 million in the three months to November 2013.
The Bank of England has said it will consider increasing interest rates from the current record low of 0.5 per cent when the UK unemployment rate falls to 7 per cent. Prior to that announcement, just 25 per cent of hospitality firms said they thought unemployment would fall far enough to trigger an interest rate rise by the end of the year.
Big Hospitality Conversation
Last year, BigHospitality reported that the industry’s biggest ever job creation drive was given a welcome boost as Barclays partnered with the British Hospitality Association (BHA) to double the organisation’s goal of creating 60,000 new jobs in the sector by 2015.
The BHA is today (27 January) hosting its first ‘Big Hospitality Conversation’ event of the year, with young people being given the opportunity to talk with key industry faces about a potential career in hospitality at the KPMG building in Canary Wharf.
Key findings from the Barclays Employers’ Survey
- 61% - The majority of hospitality businesses say ‘No’ to zero-hours contracts, which do not oblige an employer to offer guaranteed hours of work.
- 46% - Businesses that are ‘struggling’ to get sufficient skilled labour.
- 27% - ‘Likely’ to hire freelancers/contractors in the next 12 months, with the main reason being that they are ‘more flexible’.
- 16% - The amount of businesses that have taken on apprentices over the past year - 31% are looking to take on apprentices in 2014.
The Barclays Employers’ Survey 2014 was undertaken in November-December 2013 by Critical Research.
Are you looking for a job in hospitality? Or perhaps you want to hire a new employee for a key position within your company? Our jobs website - BigHospitality Jobs - specialises in vacancies across restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs and clubs.