The Report on Jobs for November, published by KPMG and the REC, indicates that the traditional Christmas search for temporary hospitality workers has begun, albeit on a smaller scale than previous years. This month’s figures show that although there has been a clear strengthening of demand compared to October, vacancies for temporary hospitality jobs have grown at one of the slowest rates since 2013, with the rate of expansion notably weaker than the same period last year.
The number of permanent hospitality positions in November also grew at the most sluggish pace in seven months, with uncertainty around Brexit and the forthcoming election cited as key drivers of this. In spite of the apparent downturn, hospitality placements grew quicker than overall vacancies across the UK, where growth of demand was at its weakest for a decade while candidate numbers fell sharply. The hospitality sector placed third and fourth respectively in the ten categories of temporary and permanent jobs analysed in the report.
KPMG’s Global Head of Leisure and Hospitality, Will Hawkley comments: “With UK hospitality one of the key employers of temporary workers during the festive season, these numbers are a concern. It would appear that political and economic uncertainty are causing customer facing organisations to express a degree of caution when it comes to their hiring and retention plans.
“However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the sector. Even though numbers on a whole are down, hospitality recruiters remain one of the top three UK employers for temporary workers, and will likely be able to have their pick of top talent due to the high volumes of applications to available positions which is positive news for bosses and customers alike.”
