UKHospitality says the latest unemployment figures “demand immediate action” at the Budget.
The latest ONS data shows 170,000 fewer people are on payroll compared to the period before last year's Budget, with 64,000 jobs lost in just the past two months. The organisation says the decline is “unprecedented and highlights the social and economic damage caused by measures introduced last year”.
Hospitality has been disproportionately hit, accounting for more than half of all job losses across the economy over that period, it added. UKHospitality is warning that businesses are reducing hours, cancelling investment, raising prices and, in many cases, closing their doors altogether.
Last year’s Budget measures, particularly changes to employer NICs thresholds, have hit those in part-time and flexible work the hardest, it says.
UKHospitality is now urging the UK Government to lower business rates, fix NICs and cut VAT.
Kate Nicholls, Chair of UKHospitality, said:
“Thirteen months of falling employment and 170,000 fewer people on payroll is a shocking indictment of the damage caused by last year’s Budget.
“Hospitality has borne the brunt of these changes, with more than half of all job losses coming from our sector. If the Government wants to get more people back into work and revitalise high streets, it needs hospitality firing on all cylinders, but right now we’re being taxed out.
“We urgently need action at the upcoming Budget and are calling on the Government to lower business rates, fix NICs and cut VAT. These measures will help reverse some of the damage, protect jobs and allow hospitality to grow and prosper again.”
