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Labour expert says Fáilte Ireland claim about 40,000 job vacancies in tourism sector 'overblown'

The tourism authority said this week that there is a recruitment crisis in the sector.

A LABOUR EXPERT has questioned a claim by Fáilte Ireland that the country needs to fill 40,000 vacancies in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The tourism authority suggested earlier this week that the industry was experiencing a recruitment crisis, largely due to vacancies arising from the impact of the pandemic.

But Ciarán Nugent of the Nevin Economic Research Institute told The Journal that he is not convinced there is a crisis, saying reports claiming this are likely to be “overblown”.

“40,000 vacancies – that’s a huge, massive claim about demand in the sector,” he said.

“Considering we’re likely not going to get the same amount of tourism this summer, I’m wondering where this demand has come from, especially given that employment numbers returned [to normal] in July 2021.”

Research conducted by the Department of Social Protection into people who closed PUP claims found last October that 62% of people who returned to work had resumed employment with the company they worked for pre-pandemic. 

It also found that the accommodation and food sector saw the largest number of people – 71,000 employees – return to their pre-Covid employer, representing 58% of people who returned to work in that industry.

The remaining 42% – or 52,000 people – were found to have taken up work for a new employer, with around 33,500 people moving to a different sector – mainly into the retail sector and admin and support services.

But the other 18,500 workers joined a new company within the accommodation and food sector itself.

Nugent suggests that these trends are “completely natural and would likely occur in regular times anyway”, given the reliance of the sector on young people and students.

“Any difficulties in recruitment are temporary in nature and logistically, it’s difficult to hire 40,000 people in the space of a couple of weeks. We’re only back fully open for two weeks now,” he said.

He also pointed to claims last summer that issues around recruitment in the hospitality sector were because the PUP was too high, despite data showing that the majority of those who had been on the payment had returned to work in the industry. 

“That turned out not to be accurate,” Nugent said.

“Even in an environment where foreign visitors to Ireland were way down, the number of jobs in hospitality rebounded to pretty much exactly what they had been the summer before: 50,000 people re-entered just that sector alone in those three months.”

A spokesperson for Fáilte Ireland told The Journal that while the authority has not tracked labour vacancies in previous years, it believes the vacancy rate “must be well above previous levels on the basis that this is now widely regarded as the number one issues affecting tourism from the businesses themselves”. 

Recovery of tourism

On Wednesday, representatives from Fáilte Ireland attended a conference at the Convention Centre in Dublin to discuss how to help the tourism industry recover.

Speaking at the conference, CEO of Fáilte Ireland Paul Kelly said: “The pandemic has had a profound impact on the industry’s skill base, with a mass exodus of workers into other industries that reopened earlier.”

He said that tourism is “a building block for regional balance and a critical contributor to social cohesion”.

“It is essential for creating sustainable communities and a significant generator of jobs in regional and rural Ireland. As a critical part of the national economy, only when tourism recovers can there be a nationwide recovery,” he said.

The authority published data which surveyed 1,000 businesses and 5,000 industry workers as part of research carried out between July and November 2021.

That research claimed there are 40,000 vacancies in the sector, 24% of which are estimated to be at senior level, and that recruitment and retention challenges only emerged as the industry reopened.

A further 30% of the businesses surveyed said that they could face closure if recruitment challenges are not resolved. 

They highlighted unsocial hours, competition from other employers and unrealistic wage expectations as the most common reasons for recruitment and retention challenges.

Smaller firms also said they were finding it hard to compete with larger ones on pay. 

Meanwhile, workers in the sector who were surveyed also said they generally enjoy the working environment in the sector, but a third said they are concerned about job security, pay and unsocial hours.

Unsocial hours in particular were found to be a major reason why some workers longer want to work in the sector.

Cost of living

Nugent also explained that some employees may have left the hospitality sector due to the rising cost of living not being reflected in their wages.

The number of people unemployed in January 2022 stood at 7.8%, up from 7.4% in December 2021, meaning that more people are looking for work, Nugent said.

Research from the ESRI published last year found that 43% of minimum wage workers in Ireland were involved in sectors disproportionately affected by job losses and closures during the pandemic, including in accommodation and food services.

The rising cost of living also means that lower-paid workers in particular are able to do less with their money, and Nugent believes this will put pressure on Government to increase both the minimum wage and welfare payments. 

“There’s going to be an issue about minimum wage, which of course will disproportionately affect the hospitality industry,” he said.

“It is an uncertain time for the hospitality industry obviously. Of course, they won’t want to bear the brunt of inflation, especially at the bottom of the scale.”

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    Mute Ciarán FitzGerald
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    May 28th 2021, 2:53 PM

    RIP to the two young people who’s lives were tragically taken.

    182
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    Mute Daniel Murray
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    May 28th 2021, 6:36 PM

    I taught Jack science in Cottenham Village College and he was the nicest kid, hugely popular and wise beyond his years. There was only 650 in the main school and everyone knew everyone in the town. In my very first week I remember giving out merits on SIMs to three lads, one of which was Jack and smiling when I saw his second name. I still see him in my head as a 15 year old with a funny haircut and a big smile. God his poor family and friends.

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    Mute Larry Rawson
    Favourite Larry Rawson
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    May 28th 2021, 5:08 PM

    Time and Time again Experts are afraid of the Racist Card being used when they Highlight a Problem Citizen in their Midst…Do you think for ine moment if it was the other way round in Asian Countries They would Give a Fiddle What you Looked Like.

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    Mute Podge
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    May 29th 2021, 8:44 AM

    @Larry Rawson: political correctness kills and damages:
    Failure to investigate grooming gangs for fear of being called racist.
    Manchester arena security guard was suspicious of the bomber but did nothing out of fear of being called racist.
    Stop and search scrapped for disproportionately targeting certain groups despite the fact that it saves minority lives.
    Political correctness needs to be shown the door so we can speak freely and solve problems.

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    Mute Michael Byrne
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    May 28th 2021, 3:19 PM

    Low Down Coward

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    Mute Darren Callaghan
    Favourite Darren Callaghan
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    May 28th 2021, 3:08 PM

    Sounds as though the 8 years in prison made him even more radicalised given they say there was radical bullying going on, been allowed around other terrorist offenders seems a very stupid recipe for disaster and needs to be remidied as well, rip to the two victims and hope the others injured are doing okay

    79
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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    May 28th 2021, 11:25 PM

    @Darren Callaghan: I know that it’s not P.C. to say this and there will be lots of the politically correct brigade on my tail but he should have been topped by the authorities much earlier—-He was never going to be any use to society!

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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    May 28th 2021, 11:30 PM

    @Darren Callaghan: it’s a disgusting act against two seemingly thoroughly decent people but this is not the first incident where an previously-incarcerated individual has been flagged by State authorities as a potential threat. Serious questions should be at their door.

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    Mute Dan Skelton
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    May 29th 2021, 2:25 PM

    Unlawfully killed?? As opposed to what, lawfully killed by a terrorist? They were outright murdered in cold blood.

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