Recruitment shortages 'continue to hold back growth' despite significant fall in vacancies

The latest vacancy figures from the Office for National Statistic show that vacancies in hospitality fell by 22% over the last year and by 9% in the last quarter.

However, vacancies in the sector remain at 132,000, which is still 48% higher than pre-Covid levels.

“The drop in hospitality vacancies we have seen over the past year is testament to the huge effort the sector is putting in to develop our own talent and help people back into the labour market, such as investing in skills and creating more flexible working patterns,” says Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality.

“While a 22% drop over the past year is significant, it remains the case that vacancies remain stubbornly high and way in excess of pre-Covid levels.

“We continue to hear that worker shortages are forcing venues to reduce opening hours or trading days, demonstrating that vacancies are not reducing quickly enough to fulfil hospitality’s enormous potential.” 

UKHospitality has long called for the Government to add more hospitality roles onto the shortage occupation list, which would make it easier for businesses to recruit from overseas. 

Back in March there had been suggestions that chefs and restaurant and hotel manager roles were set to be added to the list​​, but it never came to pass​​.

“One of the most meaningful actions Government can take to further reduce vacancies would be to add more hospitality roles, such as chefs, onto the shortage occupation list,” Nicholls continues.

“We will be making this case as part of the Migration Advisory Committee’s review and would urge them to bolster hospitality’s representation on the list.”