Hospitality and retail experience high demand

With the demand for hospitality and retail roles reaching pre-covid levels, experts are warning that these sectors may go on to experience skill shortages.

The Broadbead Technology findings show that vacancies across hospitality and retail continued to rise throughout the start of May as restrictions eased, however, a lack of staff is becoming a concern.

In the lead up to the re-opening of indoor dining and drinking across the UK, new jobs posted across hospitality in the first three weeks of May were already 34% higher than April’s total.

A similar story was seen within the retail sector, which reported a 50% increase in vacancies between 1^st – 16^th May when compared to the first half of April.

Alex Fourlis, Managing Director at Broadbean Technology, commented, “As the re-opening of the UK economy continues, the impact on the labour market has been almost immediate with jobs in hospitality and retail recovering to pre-Covid levels. After a disappointing end to last year, employers in these sectors are bringing people back at work at record pace to match the increased demand.

“However, the impact of both Brexit and the pandemic on staff availability is continuing to play out as this demand rises. While we expect this jobs growth to continue, we could soon see the gap in supply and demand drive wages up.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Mahli on 01206 591 000 or email mahli.tugby@contractorumbrella.com.