Leisure and hospitality sector employment climbs for the first time since last year

Vacancies also continued to decrease.

Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 0.22%, which was the first year-on-year (YoY) increase since the third quarter of last year, according to ONS labour market statistics.

The average weekly earnings in the food and accommodation sector have also increased by 12% to £581.64 in Q3 2024 from £518.01 in Q2 2024, which marks the highest quarter on record.

Moreover, vacancies in the sector continued a downward trend at 94,000 in the three months to October 2024, from 98,000 in July 2024.

“With vacancies continuing a downward trajectory and employment slightly up for the first time since Q3 last year, operators look to have re-evaluated operations ahead of the national minimum wage increase in April 2024 to mitigate the impact on costs,” said Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK.

“However, if staffing efficiencies have already been made, businesses will find it more difficult to protect margins, and ultimately the viability of roles and the business, when faced with the additional tax headwinds post-Budget,” Moseley added.