Over half UK jobs losses in hospitality sector

ONS statistics released yesterday have shown that over half the jobs lost last year in the UK were in the hospitality sector as lockdowns and restrictions forced closures.

The figures show that the number of workers on UK payrolls has fallen by nearly 700,000 since the start of the pandemic, with 368,000 of the jobs lost over the last year were in the badly hit hospitality sector.

The ONS added that 123,000 payroll jobs were also lost in the retail sector.

Such statistics serve as a stark reminder that this has been an incredibly tough year for small businesses in particular, where employees are their lifeblood.

New research from QuickBooks reveals the host of personal sacrifices small business owners have taken just to keep their businesses afloat and employees in roles, including digging deep into their own savings.

It found that:

• Small business owners of 1-10 employees gave up £7,000 of their own savings on average to keep staff employed during the pandemic;

• Small business owners in the hardest hit sector, hospitality, gave up £9,750 of their own savings on average to keep paying staff during the pandemic (over £2,000 more than small businesses in industries)

• What’s more, a third (33%) of small businesses overall sacrificed their own salaries to keep employees on, while nearly half (46%) gave up holidays, 41% gave up bonuses, and 30% gave up their dividends;
• Over two thirds (67%) have been forced to make challenging business decisions in the past yearthat they never thought they would have to make.