There are currently 22,369 fewer unique postings in hospitality than last year, according to new data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Trade body UKHospitality (UKH) said hospitality and tourism sectors provide hundreds of thousands of people with casual and temporary work during the summer months.
This is particularly beneficial for students returning from university or college and teens looking for their first jobs, according to UKH.
The fall in vacancies puts at risk the skills and development provided by hospitality as a first job, it warned.
This comes as demand for tourism in the UK is booming with spend on day visits by tourists in England up 6% in 2024 to £48.4bn, following a 15% rise in 2023.
April this year saw Brits take 68.6m visits within the UK - a 10% increase year on year.
The drastic drop followed changes to employer national insurance contributions, which have resulted in an additional £3.4bn annual cost for hospitality firms.
Dramatic fall
UKH chief executive Allen Simpson said: “This is the time when hospitality businesses would be frantically hiring staff for the busy summer months when the sector expects to welcome families to their hotels and serve millions of people with ice cream on the beach, fish and chips on the pier and cold pints in the pub garden.
“I know from personal experience how important hospitality summer jobs are for getting young people experience of work however, hiring this year has fallen off dramatically with 22,000 fewer jobs available compared to last year.
“It is sadly reflective of the impact we have seen from increased costs over the past nine months - less employment, less opportunity and less growth in the economy.
“Unless the Government acts, we could well be seeing the death of the great British summer job.
“That’s not good for the economy, for businesses or for the people that need this flexible work during the summer.
“We need to see action at the Budget to reverse this damage. That starts with fixing NICs, lowering business rates and cutting VAT for hospitality businesses.”
The drop in job adverts signals a red flag for the economy, according to REC chief executive Neil Carberry.
Red flag for economy
“Hospitality is one of the UK’s biggest entry points into work but right now, we are shutting people out before they even get a foot in the door,” he said.
“A drop of more than 22,000 job postings as we reach the height of summer season is not just a staffing gap, it is a red flag for the wider economy.
“It puts recruiters, hospitality businesses and customers under massive pressure to make the most of the short-lived English summer.
“We cannot keep loading new costs onto employers if we want vibrant high streets, thriving pubs and strong local economies.
Carberry echoed Simpson’s call on the Government for sector support in the next fiscal statement.
He added: “The Government needs to deliver an autumn Budget that supports hiring, which means no tax timebombs, a rethink on business rates and recognising hospitality as a vital engine for national growth.”
Furthermore, recent official figures showed the hospitality sector accounts for almost half (45%) of all job losses across the UK.
Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed the sector had lost 84,000 jobs since the Budget last October.
