More than 11,000 pubs have closed in the UK since 2008

A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that almost a quarter of pubs in the UK have closed in the last decade, although the turnover of the pub industry is holding up and employment is on the rise.

The data show a sharp fall in the number of pubs, from around 50,000 pubs in 2008 to around 39,000 pubs in 2018.

According to ONS, "these figures don’t tell the full story of how the UK pub trade is doing. Although lots of pubs have closed, the total turnover of pubs and bars has held up, remaining flat since 2008, once inflation is taken into account. The remaining pubs and bars appear to have soaked up the custom from those pubs that have closed down. Employment figures back this up: while the number of jobs in pubs dipped during the economic downturn, there are now 6% more jobs in pubs and bars than there were in 2008. The largest increases have been in bigger pubs (those with 10 or more employees). This may be because pubs are increasingly focussed on serving food as well as drink, which requires more waiting and kitchen staff."

This article contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0