Hospitality job losses are projected to reach 111,000 by the budget on 26 November, almost 13 months on from the previous budget.
UKHospitality, which is projecting the figure based on the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, said the lowering of the employer NIC threshold had been the most “damaging”, bringing 774,000 people working part-time and flexible jobs into the tax threshold for the first time.
The previous budget hit the sector with £3.4bn of additional annual costs, according to UKHospitality.
The figures from the ONS found that 10,963 hospitality jobs were lost in the past month. Following revisions to ONS data, the total jobs lost in hospitality since the budget now stands at 84,000, which is 4% of all jobs in the sector and 55% of all jobs lost in the UK economy.
“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,” said UKHospitality chair Kate Nicholls.
“The cost increases introduced at last year’s budget disproportionately hit our pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafés, 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.”
UKHospitality is calling on the government for urgent action at the budget next month, including the lowering of business rates, to fix NICs and cut VAT.
Nicholls added: “We want to create jobs, help people come back into work, invest in our businesses and support the communities we serve. We stand ready to work together on solutions that can reverse the damage already done and help hospitality thrive, not just survive.”
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