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Latvian Hospitality sector workforce falls to one third in the wake of COVID-19

The Latvian hospitality sector workforce has declined by one-third due to the impact of COVID-19. Find out the reasons behind the decrease in employment and how it has affected businesses in the industry.

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The number of persons employed in Latvia's hospitality sector has decreased by one-third in the previous two years. Latvian Restaurants Association (LRB) as well as the Latvian Employers' Confederation (LEC) have collated statistics indicating a scarcity of personnel in the industry (LDDK).

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Upwards of 33 000 individuals worked in Latvia's hotel industry before to the Covid-19 epidemic. The current tally is 21 000.

According to LRB president Jnis Jenzis, "the unexpected conditions for the industry to remain open and erratic limitations during the epidemic resulted in numerous enterprises closing down. As a result, many of their employees have been able to get new skills and relocate outside of the country. There is a critical shortage of personnel in this industry. Entrepreneurs are weary now that the season has begun since they are unable to fully implement their plans and finish all orders. Politicians are expected to be more candid in their discussions with businesspeople this election year because of this.

As part of their research, we anticipate them to look into how recent events, such as the Ebola outbreak, have affected the pharmaceutical sector. This is critical, especially in light of the recent spike in the cost of virtually every resource. Many businesses have run out of time to pay their tax extensions. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to contemplate shutting their firms. We'll continue to lag behind our Baltic neighbours if we don't make bold decisions. We shall be unable to keep up with the pace of change.

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13 000 hotel industry employees have been laid off in the previous two years, and this is a serious amount. This took place outside of the peak tourist months. Both years, the number of staff briefly doubled over the summer months. There is little reason to be optimistic about job growth in the business in 2022, despite the industry's high expectations.

Latvia's labour market has suffered greatly as a result of the pandemic, which saw 12 thousand people leave the business. It's no secret that the hotel business prefers to hire young individuals who are fluent in another language. Most of the time, they don't have a family to call their own. These people might well have left the country and are now working in another country if no one replies to the job postings from the industry. According to  finance expert Jnis Hermanis, this is a significant loss for Latvia's economy and illustrates the country's inadequate response to the epidemic.

More and more significant enterprises in the hotel industry have reduced their workforces in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. Except in the take-away food industry, which is served by Premier Restaurants Latvia (McDonald's) and LLC ALEKS UN V (Saules virtuve).

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