Around 100,000 fewer people still work in restaurants or cafés than before the corona pandemic. This is due to low wages and a lack of job attractiveness, the unions criticize.
There is a lack of staff in restaurants, bars, cafés and restaurants – a new study commissioned by the Food-Genuss-Gaststätten union (NGG) and the union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation shows the extent to which employees have turned their backs on the industry.
“Like never under pressure”
The hospitality industry is “under pressure like never before” due to a lack of employees, it says. The corona pandemic has shaken the business model of the hospitality industry with numerous part-time and seasonal employees. According to the study, at the end of 2023 there will still be around 100,000 fewer people employed in the industry than before the pandemic.
During the corona pandemic, the number of employees in restaurants, bars and hotels fell from 2.1 million people to an interim low of 1.8 million people subject to social security contributions and part-time employees. Almost 330,000 fewer people worked in the hospitality industry at the peak of the pandemic.
offspring and Temporary workers stay out
The consequences of the pandemic have still not been overcome, as more than one in four people chose a different career during this time. And apparently many people don’t return from this. While many employees subject to social security contributions received and remained on short-time work benefits during the pandemic, employees under the age of 25, employees in companies with 50 or more employees, as well as mini-jobbers and temporary workers turned their backs on the industry.
The industry complains about staffing concerns, especially among young talent. According to the study, the pandemic led to a decline of 22 percent in the number of trainees – in 2022 there were almost 37,000 trainees, two thirds fewer than 15 years earlier.
More money and better ones working conditions required
The hospitality industry remains unattractive for employees, especially financially. Even after the statutory minimum wage was increased to twelve euros per hour in October 2022, the overall wage structure in the hospitality industry remains low, according to the study. Only around 36 percent of new hires are employees subject to social security contributions. The majority of companies do not pay their employees any standard wages. “The industry continues to be a low-wage industry,” the study says.
Employers are also asked to make activities in the industry more attractive for potential newcomers. Without wage increases and better working conditions, the staffing gap will be “difficult to close,” the study concluded.