British pubs and restaurants are significantly reducing their workforce as higher costs and weaker consumer demand continue to weigh on the hospitality sector.
New data from Bristol-based hospitality recruitment platform Limber shows that average shift hours reported by hospitality businesses in 2025 have fallen by 30% compared to 2022, highlighting the huge pressures facing operators across the industry.
According to Limber, average monthly shift hours per company have fallen from 112 hours in 2022 to just 79 hours in 2025 as venues look to control costs through leaner rosters and less reliance on a flexible workforce.
The hospitality industry was among the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic and has struggled to regain momentum amid a toxic mix of double-digit inflation, higher labor costs, rising taxes, increased interest rates and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Chris Sanderson, chief executive of Limber, said the data reflected a structural change in the way pubs and restaurants operate.
“Since the pandemic, hotel operations have continually reduced staff hours,” he said. “A combination of increased costs and falling consumer confidence means venues are trying to do more with less and in many cases are simply quieter than before.
“Until the economy recovers and people truly get better, this worrying trend is likely to continue.”
The reduction in shift times suggests that many operators are choosing to shorten opening hours, reduce service levels or rely more heavily on owners and core staff to maintain the profitability of their businesses.
For smaller, independent venues, the pressure is particularly great.
Danny Matthews, owner of The Pennycress, a cafe in South Cerney near Cirencester, said his business had been forced to selectively increase prices while absorbing other costs to remain competitive.
“The biggest killers right now are wages and tariffs,” he said. “We have had to increase some prices, although customers have generally understood this, and we have absorbed other costs to keep popular items running smoothly, such as alternative milk, which can be twice as expensive as dairy products.”
“Tariff relief alone is not enough for a young hospitality business. Support with energy, VAT and social security is important and there is a real lack of understanding within the government about how thin hospitality margins actually are.”
Matthews added that the closure of independent hospitality businesses has wider implications for local communities.
“If The Pennycress were to close tomorrow, South Cerney would not only lose a cafe, but also a place that connects people and supports local food producers. Hospitality is hard, but it’s becoming almost impossible to do well.”
HR and employment specialist Kate Underwood, founder of Kate Underwood HR and Training, said the decline in hospitality staffing levels was symptomatic of deeper problems in city centers and high streets.
“When bars and restaurants close or downsize, it’s like a city losing its living room,” she said. “Hospitality has always been tough. Now it’s even tougher, with higher labor costs, higher employer benefits, rising energy costs – and customers still expecting five-star service on a budget.
“The hospitality industry is not dying because owners can no longer run a business. It is being bled dry by rising bills while everyone wonders why the lights are going out on high streets.”
Underwood said surviving operators tend to be reckless with costs, particularly when it comes to menus and staffing.
“The venues that remain are forensic in terms of rostering and menu design – eschewing low-margin fare and pushing for profitable ones. But even the best-run businesses can only make so much savings.”
With consumer confidence weak and further cost increases in wages, business rates and employer taxes expected, industry figures warn that workforce cuts could become a permanent feature of the hospitality sector unless meaningful, industry-specific support is introduced.
Currently, data suggests that for many pubs and restaurants, survival is taking precedence over growth, with fewer shifts, shorter hours and increasingly cautious hiring decisions set to define the hospitality industry in 2025.
