The statistics show that staff numbers grew by 5.4 per cent in those four years, from 2.66m to 2.81m, mostly driven by part-time work, which rose by 6.8 per cent or 72,000.
Tabitha Aldrich-Smith of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) told BigHospitality: “The figures released today from the ONS are outstanding and show our industry is growing at double the rate of all other industries in the UK.
“Hospitality businesses have weathered the recession well and are now in a good place to expand and create new jobs. These figures are evidence that we are delivering on our promises as the engine of growth and jobs for the economy.”
F&B staff want more hours
Additionally, the number of food and beverage employees who would like to work more hours is growing more than twice as fast as in the rest of the UK labour market at 49 per cent between 2009 and 2013. This means that 100,000 more people are now saying they want more hours in the hospitality sector, raising the overall number from 1.14m to 1.24m.
Self-employment in the tourism sector has also increased faster than in other industries, particularly in the cultural, sports, recreation and conference segments (up 21.9 per cent from 188,000 to 229,000).
Meanwhile, temporary employment in the industry grew by 16.6 per cent (from 231,000 to 260,000) between 2009 and 2013, compared to 12.5 per cent within UK non-tourism industries.
Industry demand
According to hospitality training and recruitment firm People 1st, the industry will need to fill 330,000 new jobs by 2020.
The BHA has taken initiatives to match unemployed 16-24 year olds with hospitality jobs, reserving 6,000 jobs for them this year.
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