World Cup boosts hospitality hiring despite cost of living crisis
The business energy price cap and World Cup are boosting hiring in the hospitality sector, as data from job board Caterer.com shows hiring is consistently in line with 2019 levels, despite the cost-of-living crisis.
Our latest Hospitality Hiring Insider, which analyses job ad data and the views of 600 hospitality professionals*, shows one in five (22%) hospitality businesses are already seeing a surge in bookings for the World Cup and three in ten (29%) are hiring more people to ensure they can manage the anticipated demand. In addition, more than a quarter (27%) of hospitality businesses are seeing bookings surge for Christmas already, higher than previous years.
Businesses adapt to more creative hiring methods
Although hiring remains resilient, the sector continues to be challenged by a shrinking talent pool, with Caterer.com research revealing some 200,000 international workers have left the sector since 2019.
As a result, hospitality businesses are increasingly hiring closer to home. Two thirds (67%) of hospitality employers believe the challenges of the labour shortages and decline in international workers has encouraged businesses to be more creative about how they hire workers from the UK.
The data points towards improved diversity and inclusion in the sector. In fact, 62% are now actively hiring more inclusively, with employers feeling more inclusive policies have improved their company’s ethos (51%) and productivity (48%).
More government support needed
Despite this positive news for the industry, the sector continues to contend with the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) of hospitality businesses believe the freeze on energy prices for the industry needs to be extended to 12 months, rather than the six currently planned, four in five (83%) would like to see a VAT cut to 10% and 80% want a business rates holiday.
Kathy Dyball, Director at Caterer.com comments: “It’s encouraging to see that hiring remaining remains resilient and that hospitality businesses are actively preparing for a busy period driven by the World Cup and festive season. The industry has worked so hard to get to this point, adapting hiring strategies and increasing the inclusivity of its workforce. However, with the backdrop of an uncertain economy and a cost-of-living crisis, there is no doubt that further government support is essential. Greater clarity on how long specific sector support will last, will enable businesses to plan ahead more robustly and with confidence.”
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