Hospitality: A Value Chain Analysis 2021

The labour force is a key input in the Hospitality Value Chain (HVC) and a main driver of the value created in the sector through the production of services. This chapter looks at the size and demographics of the labour force using the Census of Population, survey data and administrative sources.

Numbers Employed

The total number of employees in the Hospitality sector is calculated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As shown in Figure 1.1, a far higher number of employees are employed in Food & Beverage Service Activities (110,932) than in the Accommodation sector (43,140) in 2022. It must also be noted that a significant proportion of employees are employed on a part-time basis, as shown in Figure 1.2.

As expected, the numbers employed in both the Accommodation and Food & Beverage Services sectors declined in 2020; while the numbers employed in Food & Beverage Services began to recover in 2021, the downward trend continued into 2021 for the Accommodation sector, and reached its lowest point in 2021 at 33,976 employees. Both sectors saw an increase in employment in 2022, the number of employees in Food & Beverage Service Activities was just 2.5% lower than in 2019, however, total employees in the Accommodation sector was still 14% lower than in 2019.

Labour input in the Hospitality sector is measured in terms of hours worked by employees using data from the LFS. Figure 1.2 shows the proportion of full-time to part-time hours worked in the Hospitality sector. While the majority of hours are worked by full-time employees, both Accommodation and the Food & Beverage Services sectors acquired a significant proportion of its labour input from employees working part-time hours. A higher percentage of part-time hours were worked in Food & Beverage Services (34%) than in Accommodation (26%).

The number of jobs in the Hospitality sector can also be seen by month using PAYE data from the Revenue Commissioners. Figure 1.3 shows the total number of employments in hospitality for each month in 2021 (see the Background Notes for a definition of an employment). 

The three sub-sectors that generate most employment in the Hospitality sector are Restaurants & Mobile Food Service Activities, Hotels & Similar Accommodation, and Beverage Service Activities. Figure 1.3 clearly shows the effects of COVID-19 related closures on employments in all sectors, employments declined in January and did not begin to rise significantly until May as restrictions were lifted.

Total employments by month and activity in 2022 is shown in Figure 1.4. Total employments across the year in all sectors was more consistent than in 2021. Seasonal variation is seen with a rise in employments over the summer months, which is to be expected given the nature of the sector.

Employment by Sex

The Census of Population 2022 gives insights into the proportions of men and women in the Hospitality sector. Overall, there was a marginally higher percentage of women (54%) than men (46%) working in this sector. Figure 1.5 shows the breakdown by sex of employees in the hospitality sector by sub-sector. The higher proportion of female employees was observed in all sub-sectors except Beverage Serving Activities where men accounted for just over 50% of employees. 

Occupations

The ten most common occupations in 2022, split by sex are detailed in Figure 1.6 below. There was a distinct disparity among some of the most popular jobs in the sector. For chefs and bartenders, nearly four times as many men occupied the role as women. On the other hand, among waiters, there were four times as many women as men. 

Education

The highest level of education attainment by employees in the Hospitality sector in 2022 is shown in Figure 1.7. Most employees had completed secondary education or lower. In Beverage Serving Activities 60% of employees had secondary education or lower while in the Other Accommodation subsector, just 42% of employees had this as their highest level of education attainment. The next highest proportion of workers held a technical/vocational or higher certificate, followed by a bachelor’s degree and lastly, postgraduate degree or higher.

Age

The age distributions of employees in the Accommodation and Food & Beverage Services sectors in 2022 are shown in Figure 1.8. The distributions were skewed towards teenagers and young adults, with the highest proportion of workers in the sectors aged between 18 and 25.