Pub industry sheds 20% of jobs in a year

The pub and club industry lost 64,100 jobs over the last year — almost 20% of the workforce — as the economic troubles hit, according to a new report.

The report, by People 1st, says that jobs were shed at an alarming rate between December 2007 and December 2008 with one in ten companies saying they were forced to reduce staff levels.

However, the report also said that attracting and recruiting skilled staff will be critical to the recovery of pubs following the recent economic turmoil.

"The pub and bar industry has undoubtedly suffered over the last few years but is in many respects ahead of the game in terms of recognising the need to diversify and focus on marketing their offer to attract customers," said Brian Wisdom, chief executive of People1st.

"But at the end of the day, people are the lifeline of any business, which ultimately depends on the skills and competencies of its staff. Therefore, it makes good business skills to attract and develop highly skilled staff."

The report also showed that 66% do invest in staff training and 25% plan to increase training spend despite the challenging environment — although 51% are planning to make cutbacks on training.

"This is a false economy," said Wisdom. "Companies that grow their staff and provide good value for money without compromising on quality, should be in pole position when the economy picks up."

For the 12 months to March, 26% of leisure businesses froze recruitment plans with 24% cancelling plans to expand their workforce.