Job losses in the sector are three times higher than the rest of the economy since October 2024, as UKHospitality urges the Prime Minister to take action.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, UKHospitality said the 2024 Budget directly contributed to a reversal in hospitality’s ability to create jobs.
Between October 2024 and May 2025, the sector lost 69,000 jobs. In the same period the previous year, hospitality created an additional 18,000 jobs.
Budget asks
UKHospitality said this year’s Budget should “explicitly aim” to reverse the hospitality job losses of the last few months.
The letter called for the Government to fix NICs to boost jobs by extending the existing exemptions to include both young people and people moving from welfare to work.
In the run-up to the Budget, UKHospitality is also calling for the Government to:
- 1
Lower business rates to revive high streets
Introduce the maximum discount of 20p for hospitality businesses as part of the promised business rates reform.
- 2
Cut VAT on hospitality to drive investment
Follow the majority of European rival nations by reducing VAT on the sector.
Kate Nicholls. Chief Executive of UKHospitality
Speaking about the proposals, Kate Nicholls, Chair of UKHospitality, said:
“In the years following the financial crisis we created one in five net new jobs and today employ 3.5 million people. The Government needs sectors like hospitality to create jobs and meet their ambition to get more people back into work.
“We have a proven track record of being able to deliver those jobs in every part of the country and for people from all backgrounds.
“The NICs change was socially regressive and had a disproportionate effect on entry level jobs. Without a change of tack from the government we could be looking at over 150,000 fewer workers in hospitality, when we should be bringing people into the jobs market.
“The economy needs jobs. Hospitality creates them. But we are being taxed out.”
