The accommodation and food services industry saw the largest percentage decrease across the UK in vacancies on the year between February and April, according to the ONS.
The fall in vacancies was the largest since the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn, but it was hoped that the sector would see a strong bounceback.
People were advised to “avoid” bars, restaurants and other indoor leisure venues on 16 March by the government, and “measures to close entertainment, hospitality and indoor leisure premises” were introduced from 20 March 2020 across the UK.
As a result, the accommodation and food services industry has been among the hardest hit in the UK economy. The Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey covering the first two weeks of lockdown (23 March to 5 April 2020), showed that across the 6,150 businesses that responded and were either continuing to trade or had temporarily paused trading, 27% of the workforce had been furloughed, with the highest furloughing rate recorded in the accommodation and food service activities (80%).
Peter Briffett, CEO, Wagestream, said: “The most remarkable thing about the decline in vacancies in the accommodation and food services industry is that it wasn't much larger. An annual decline of only 41.5% between February and April shows that a lot of businesses in these sectors were still confident enough to be thinking long term.
“That hopefully speaks to the financial strength of many of these companies and, by extension, their ability to bounce back once lockdown restrictions are history.
“Lockdown has hit the UK’s hotels, B&Bs and restaurants especially hard but equally a lot of them are aware that we could soon be entering another protracted period of staycations. In other words, more guests and more footfall, even if socially distanced.
“The impact of Covid-19 on the airline industry has been profound and this, coupled with the fact that people are likely to be far more cautious about their finances moving forward, means UK hotels, B&Bs and restaurants could see a genuine rally in the short to medium-term as people spend more time holidaying and eating out in the UK.
“Hotels, B&Bs and restaurants have been the hardest hit on the hiring front for now but they could prove one of the sectors with steepest V-shaped recovery as Brits spend more time holidaying at home.”