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Third of a million hospitality staff ‘leave the sector’ annually

Almost 366,000 staff leave the hospitality sector each year, equating for 20% of the industry’s total workforce and costing the industry £2.7m, according to new research from People 1st. 

The report said the hospitality industry currently relies on young workers, with 34% of the employees ages under 25, compared to 12% in the economy as a whole. Pubs, bars clubs and restaurants in particular attract a younger workforce, with 66% of bar staff aged under 25.

According to the European Commission, by 2030 the European working age population will have shrunk by 13 million – around 4% – and this means that the working population may not be big enough to support economic growth by as early as 2020.

People 1st warns that unless hotel employers take a different approach to their recruitment, the industry may soon start facing major recruitment problems.

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Martin-Christian Kent, executive director at People 1st, said: “The hospitality industry has traditionally targeted and employed a young workforce, but with current demographic changes this is no longer a sustainable strategy.

“The industry relies heavily on international workers to address current recruitment needs. However this might not be an option in the future, as the rest of Europe will experience similar challenges, and recent changes to the migration policy make it much harder to recruit from outside the European Union.”

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