Hospitality vacancies rise to 78,000 in August

This is the first time it has increased in a year.

Job vacancies in the accommodation and food services industry rose for the first time in a year, reaching 78,000 in August, up from 74,000 in July, according to RSM UK.

In today's ONS labour market data, payroll employees in the sector saw their biggest decline, falling 4.1% year on year (YoY) to 2,085,155 in August. 

“This suggests operators may be close to cutting as far as they can in response to April’s rise in staff costs,” said Saxon Moseley, partner and head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK.

“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,” Moseley added.

However, he also said that with speculation and uncertainty building in the lead-up to the budget, there is a possibility this could be derailed, especially if businesses are hit with additional tax rises.