Over a third of jobs lost since February from the hospitality sector

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, a third of all jobs lost since February this year have been from the hospitality industry, making it the largest single contributor to the fall in employment.

ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: "Overall we have seen a continuation of recent trends, with a further weakening in the labour market.

"The latest monthly tax numbers show over 800,000 fewer employees on the payroll in November than in February, with new analysis finding that over a third of this fall came from the hospitality sector."

The number of people in the UK reporting redundancy in the three months to October increased by 217,000 on the quarter to reach a record high of 370,000. The rate of expected redundancies was highest in the wholesale and retail sector (11%), followed by the accommodation and food service sector at 10%.

In the three months to October, employment was still falling sharply and unemployment was rising. The employment rate was down 0.5 percentage points on the previous three months, while unemployment was up 0.7 percentage points.

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