86,000 jobs lost due to Covid in nightlife sector, new report finds

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86,000 jobs have been lost in the nightlife sector due to COVID-19.

As revealed in a new report by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), the UK’s nighttime cultural economy has been severely affected by the pandemic.

To put the impact of these losses into context, the report also showed for the first time that the value of the UK’s nighttime economy equated to 1.6% – or £36.4 billion – in 2019. That’s the equivalent of 425,000 jobs across the UK.

“We are pleased to be able to present today this important and timely piece of work quantifying, for the first time, the size of the night time economy in the UK,” said Michael KIll of the NTIA in a statement. “Important, because in my 25-year career working in UK nightlife, it has always struck me as so odd that we did not have a proper accounting of the value of this important sector. Today’s report puts that right, and is long overdue.”

“It is crucial the Chancellor use the upcoming Budget to support this beleaguered sector,” he continued. “We are calling for him to extend the 12.5% rate of VAT on hospitality until 2024, include door sales in that reduced rate of VAT, because the present system punishes nightclubs that rely on door sales rather than selling tickets, and for him to ensure there are no increases in Alcohol Duties – our sector really cannot afford any additional burdens.”

Kill also said that “it is the worst possible time to introduce vaccine passports, which will further damage a sector essential to the economic recovery”. Plans for vaccine passports for clubs in England were scrapped in September, but have been in place in Scotland since the start of October. 

Back in June – the same month a new campaign was launched to support the Northern Irish night-time economy – the NTIA warned that 1 in 4 nightlife businesses would close within a month without government support.