The hospitality sector has accounted for a third of the total jobs lost since the pandemic first broke in March.
According to statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)there were 819,000 fewer workers on UK company payrolls in November than at the start of the pandemic, official figures show, with hospitality bearing the brunt.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in the three months to October, with the jobless total up to 1.7 million people. The hospitality headcount was 660,000 lower than in February, with one million workers on full furlough and 400,000 on part time furlough.
Redundancies hit a record high over the period.
Hospitality has been particularly badly hit by coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, resulting in large numbers of workers losing their jobs.
Bars and restaurants in England were forced to close throughout November, and thousands based in areas covered by tier 3 rules remain closed, with more set to follow his London also enters tier 3.
“The latest monthly tax numbers show over 800,000 fewer employees on the payroll in November than in February, with new analysis finding that over a third of this fall came from the hospitality sector.
“In the three months to October, employment was still falling sharply and unemployment was rising, but the number of people neither working nor looking for work was little changed. Average hours per worker were continuing to recover, though this was before the second lockdown in England.
“While there was another record rise in redundancies in the latest three months as a whole, they began to ease during October.
