Job losses in the sector are three times higher than the rest of the economy since October 2024, UKH revealed.
Between October 2024 and May 2025, the sector lost 69,000 jobs. In the same period the previous year, hospitality created an additional 18,000 jobs.
UKH said this year’s Budget should explicitly aim to reverse the hospitality job losses of the last few months.
Boost jobs
The letter called for the Government to fix NICs (National Insurance Contributions) to boost jobs by extending the existing exemptions to include both young people and people moving from welfare to work.
In the run-up to the Budget, UKHospitality is also calling for the Government to lower business rates to revive high streets, through the maximum discount of 20p for hospitality businesses as part of the promised business rates reform.
It has also called for a VAT cut on hospitality to help drive investment, which has been implemented by the majority of European nations.
UKH chair Kate Nicholls said: “In the years following the financial crisis we created one in five net new jobs and today employ 3.5m people.”
Create jobs
“The Government needs sectors like hospitality to create jobs and meet their ambition to get more people back into work,” she added
“We have a proven track record of being able to deliver those jobs in every part of the country and for people from all backgrounds.”
She said the NICs change was “socially regressive” and had a “disproportionate effect” on entry level jobs.
“Without a change of tack from the government we could be looking at over 150,000 fewer workers in hospitality, when we should be bringing people into the jobs market,” Nicholls said.
“The economy needs jobs. Hospitality creates them. But we are being taxed out.”
