Nearly two and a half years after the epidemic hit Hong Kong, the government has successively tightened restrictions on dine-in and banned dine-in in the evening market, which has hit the catering industry hard.
Catering Alliance Charity Foundation released a research report on the development of the catering industry today (19th) and found that the employment population in the catering industry has dropped by 15.6% compared with that before the epidemic, which is much higher than the decline in catering institutions. Innovation and technology should be introduced to solve the problem of manpower shortage. However, the large amount of investment in technology and the lack of support make it difficult for the industry to transform.
▼On May 5, the number of people per restaurant will be increased to a maximum of eight people per table▼
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The Food and Beverage Alliance Charity Foundation and the Chinese University (Administrators and Business Administration) Senior Students Association conducted a study on "2022 Towards the New Normal of the Catering Industry".
The research was conducted from July to October last year and collected 657 consumer and 506 operator and industry practitioner questionnaires.
The research is divided into three categories. In terms of the market, the survey shows that consumers have become more stringent on the hygiene requirements of catering, but their satisfaction with the hygiene of the restaurant environment, staff and delivery staff is only about 15%.
In terms of operation, the catering labor force continued to be lost. The number of employees in the third quarter of last year fell to 217,500, a 15.6% drop compared to the booming market in 2018. The number of catering establishments also fell by 5.15% in the same period, but the decline was much lower than that of employment. population, indicating that the employment population of this industry is not easy to return to normal levels.
The Catering Alliance Charity Foundation released a research report on the development of the catering industry today (19th), and found that the employment population in the catering industry has dropped by 15.6% compared with that before the epidemic, which is much higher than the decline in catering establishments.
(Photo by Lin Yingxian)
The study believes that another reason for the loss of labor force in the catering industry is that wages and benefits lag behind other industries.
The average monthly salary for a restaurant or restaurant receptionist was $16,875 as of September last year, a gap of at least $2,000 between drivers ($18,793) and construction ($20,000).
81% of the operators surveyed agree to introduce technology to deal with manpower shortages, but they are hesitant to invest in large sums of money and believe that government support is lacking.
Huang Jiahe, president of the Catering Association, pointed out that the latest data shows that the labor force in the catering industry has fallen below the 200,000 mark, and the unemployment rate has risen to 11%, down nearly 3% from the February figure.
He also mentioned that the industry’s business customers last year were only about 92 billion yuan, a drop of about 20% from nearly 120 billion yuan in 2018, and the turnover in the first quarter of this year was only 15 billion yuan, urging the government to tighten epidemic prevention measures, The influence of various industries should be balanced.
The study also found that new operating models emerged under the epidemic, including retail, e-commerce, miniaturization and full-time.
It is recommended that the government assist in promoting the comprehensive reform of the catering industry, including launching an exclusive development fund for "smart catering".
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