There are still labour shortages in British pubs and other members of UK Hospitality, reports the organisation's CEO Kate Nicholls in a statement this week.
There were over 100,000 vacancies in hospitality according to the Office of National Statistics at the end of the first quarter of the year, still 15 per cent above the levels of pre-pandemic days.
The shortages remain, despite an increase of 9.5 per cent in wages, said Nicholls. “Hospitality businesses are investing heavily in their people, with wages up in the past year, but the lack of movement in vacancies shows the need for the sector to be unshackled in other areas to free them up to invest and drive economic growth.
"Rebalancing and reducing the sector’s cost burden must be a priority because we are continuing to see money earmarked for business investment diverted into simply paying the bills.”
