Hospitality vacancies rise for first time in a year as businesses adapt to new norm
Today’s ONS labour market figures show payrolled employees in the accommodation and food services industry saw its biggest year-on-year decline in August, falling 4.1% from 2,174,759 in August 2024 to 2,085,155 in August 2025.
However, vacancies in the sector rose for the first time in a year, up from 74,000 in July 2025 to 78,000 in August 2025.
Saxon Moseley, Partner and Head of Leisure and Hospitality at RSM UK, comments: “While payrolled employees in the hospitality industry saw their biggest year-on-year decline in August, the month-on-month change does indicate the numbers are flattening out. This suggests operators may be close to cutting as far as they can in response to April’s rise in staff costs.
“Added to this, vacancies in the sector increased for the first time since August 2024, which indicates businesses have turned a corner and are looking to recruit again. However, with speculation and uncertainty building in the lead up to the budget, there’s every possibility this could be derailed, particularly if businesses are hit with additional tax rises.
“Operators need to see government support in the budget rather than further tax burden placed on them. Any tax measures that hit consumers’ disposable income will also have a negative knock-on effect on the sector, so the government must tread extremely carefully.”