By Scott Reid
Copyright scotsman
Job losses within Britain’s hospitality sector are expected to top 111,000 by the time of November’s Budget, industry leaders have warned. Trade body UKHospitality said the lowering of the threshold at which employers’ national insurance kicks in – announced at last year’s autumn Budget – had been particularly damaging, bringing 774,000 people working part-time and flexibly into the tax threshold for the first time. The organisation said the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was illustrative of the impact that billions of pounds of additional costs have had on jobs. It said figures from the ONS revealed that 10,963 hospitality jobs were lost in the last month. Following revisions to official data, the total number of jobs lost in the sector since the last Budget now stands at 84,000. This is 4 per cent of all jobs in the sector, and 55 per cent of all jobs lost in the UK economy, according to the trade body. It said the scale of job losses necessitated “urgent action” on November 26, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her autumn Budget. In order to reverse the damage done, UKHospitality is urging the UK government to “lower business rates, fix NICs [national insurance contributions] and cut VAT”. Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said: “Losing 111,000 hospitality jobs by the Budget will be a devastating landmark for hospitality to reach and will be one that truly illustrates the unthinkable damage done to our sector. “Hospitality is a sector that has a long and proud history of providing opportunity and jobs for all, and witnessing more than 84,000 jobs lost in hospitality already is heartbreaking. “The cost increases introduced at last year’s Budget disproportionately hit our pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafes, to name a few, and particularly the 774,000 people employed on part-time or flexible hours. “Hospitality is being taxed out and the sheer scale of cost increases hitting the sector is forcing businesses to make tough decisions to cut jobs, raise prices, slash investment and reduce hours. “This is the opposite of what we want to do. We want to create jobs, help people come back into work, invest in our businesses and support the communities we serve,” she added. The warning came after it emerged that wage growth had fallen back to its lowest level for more than three years as firms continue to clamp down on hiring. The ONS said regular wage growth, excluding bonuses, dropped to 4.8 per cent in the three months to July, down from 5 per cent in the previous three months and the lowest since May 2022. Wages are still outstripping inflation but at a slower pace. The ONS said the rate of UK unemployment remained unchanged at 4.7 per cent in the three months to July, though it repeated caution over the reliability of the statistic amid an ongoing overhaul of the workforce survey. The unemployment rate in Scotland for the three months stood at a lower 3.5 per cent. National insurance hike hammering Scottish businesses with more pain to come – Fraser of Allander Institute
