Average hospitality wages rise 53% in 10 years
As a result of these shortages, employers have been forced to increase wages to attract British and Irish nationals to these positions
The average wage for someone working in hospitality has risen 53% over the last 10 years, the biggest rise of any industry, according to ONS data analysed by Hazelwoods Accountants.
The average wage has risen from £328 per week in 2012 to £502 per week in 2022.
Hospitality workers have also experienced the fastest wage inflation in the past year, with average weekly earnings jumping 23% from £409 in 2021 to £502 in 2022.
The average hospitality worker has experienced four times as much wage inflation as the UK’s average worker, with average wages increasing 4.9% from £696 per week in 2021 to £729 in 2022.
Hazelwoods stated that the increase in wages over the past decade is partly due to rises in the National Minimum Wage. This figure has risen by 53% in the last 10 years, from £6.19 per hour in 2012 to £9.50 in 2022.
However, wage inflation in the hospitality sector in the past year has also been fuelled by labour shortages, with Brexit restrictions reducing the number of workers coming to the UK from the EU.
As a result of these shortages, employers have been forced to increase wages to attract British and Irish nationals to these positions.
Rebecca Copping, associate partner at Hazelwoods, said: “Hospitality workers have seen minimum wage rises and Brexit combine to drive up their wages sharply over the past ten years.
“Recruiting from what is now a finite pool of workers in a much more competitive market has meant pay levels have had to increase markedly.” Higher wages are good news for the staff in the sector but they are putting the industry’s weak margins under even greater pressure.”