Hospitality hit hardest by job losses, ONS data shows
UKH states that the hospitality industry contributes £93bn annually to the economy, generating £54bn of tax for the Treasury and employing more than 3.5 million people
Hospitality has been the hardest hit sector of the economy since the Budget, accounting for nearly half (45%) of all job losses, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
The data shows that hospitality has now lost 84,000 jobs since the budget, an increase of 13,000 job losses in a month.
Vacancies in the sector also continued declining, down from 82,000 in the three months to April 2025 to 79,000 in the three months to May 2025, and dropped 19% year-on-year (98,000).
Average weekly earnings in accommodation and food services increased slightly from £341.96 in April 2025 to £345.34 in May 2025, and were up 4.3% from £331.26 in May 2024.
Chair of UKHospitality Kate Nicholls has called this a direct consequence of policy decisions at last year’s Budget. She has called the change to employer NICs “socially regressive” and had a disproportionate impact on entry level jobs.
She believes that if the government does not change course there could be even more job losses to follow.
Nicholls said: “We desperately need to see action at the upcoming Budget. We urge the Government to act on our asks to fix NICs, by extending the existing exemptions to include both young people and people moving from welfare to work, which will boost jobs and help to reverse this huge loss.
“We also need to see lower business rates to revive high streets, and a VAT cut on hospitality to drive investment. We have seen time and time again that our sector is extremely capable of meeting the Government’s growth and employment objectives, if given the optimal operational environment. This is why we need our asks met, before we are taxed out.”
UKH states that the hospitality industry contributes £93bn annually to the economy, generating £54bn of tax for the Treasury and employing more than 3.5 million people.
