A report by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has found that the food and drink industry added jobs at a faster pace than the economy as a whole: quarter-on-quarter, job growth stood at 1.5%, above the UK’s growth of 0.8%.
The report, which based its findings on figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that employment in the food and drink industry continued to rise in Q1 2022, with the industry gaining 7,000 jobs since the previous quarter and 16,000 on the year, reaching 475,000.
Year-on-year, the industry saw a rise of 3.5% in the number of jobs, a more rapid acceleration than UK’s one of 2.7%.
Despite the record growth, the FDF report stressed that the current environment “remains very challenging” and that “labour shortages persist and are severe.” FDF members report that they had 5.2 unfilled vacancies per 100 employees in Q1 2022, above the average in the UK as a whole of 4.1 vacancies per 100 employees.
FDF also said that the war in Ukraine had produced a “new wave of production cost rises”, from higher prices of food ingredients and packaging to energy. It warned that, as profit margins in the industry are already thin, current conditions may impact growth, with innovation and new investment projects possibly being put on hold to free up resources.
Significant labour shortages
FDF CEO Karen Betts said: “It’s good to see the rise in the number of people employed in the food and drink industry, the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. In the first quarter of this year, jobs in our sector increased by 7,000, taking the total number of people employed to 475,000.
“However, the industry still faces significant and stubborn labour shortages, across a variety of roles, from warehouse operators to engineers. These shortages, which are forcing some companies to suspend some production, are hampering growth and contributing to rising costs. Many businesses are looking to invest more in advanced technologies as a result, but the uncertain economic outlook and the range of upcoming, complex government regulation is holding them back.”
She added: “The UK government’s newly announced independent review into labour shortages across the food chain is welcome, but we also need to see the skills system work better right across the country as well as a reformed and more flexible Apprenticeship Levy.”
