Digital Business & Future 03.04.2026

8 min Read Time

2,900 gastronomy insolvencies in 2025 – nearly 30% more than last year. 24,500 business closures in two years. Meanwhile, the number of officially reported open positions has plummeted from 43,000 to just 2,700. That sounds like relief. It isn’t. The gap is shrinking not because the problem is solved, but because the businesses that needed staff are vanishing. For those still standing, competition for top talent is intensifying, not easing. Employer branding is no longer a marketing luxury. It’s a survival strategy.

The Key Takeaways

Why Falling Numbers Are Deceptive

The Federal Employment Agency’s bottleneck analysis reports only around 2,700 missing skilled workers in hotels and restaurants for 2024/25 – down from over 43,000 in 2023. At first glance, that looks like dramatic improvement.

Reality tells another story. Demand isn’t falling because teams are finally fully staffed. It’s falling because businesses are cutting opening hours, streamlining concepts – or shutting down entirely. As the Handelsblatt aptly headlined: “Skills shortage in hospitality – gone.” Not because conditions improved, but because the businesses that needed staff have disappeared.

Job ads tell the same story: In October 2025, gastronomy job postings dropped by 24.4% year-on-year – far steeper than the overall economy’s decline of 9.5%. In accommodation, the drop was 17.5%. The sector is contracting faster than the labor market as a whole.

DEHOGA estimates the actual shortfall at over 65,000 employees, once unskilled workers and temporary staff are included. The Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln) calculated an additional need for 8,000 skilled workers just for the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship. The Federal Employment Agency’s official figure of 2,700 captures only the fraction still actively reported.

Sources: Creditreform 2025, Federal Employment Agency, October 2025

The Minimum Wage Effect: Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs

In January 2026, the statutory minimum wage rose to €13.90 – an 8.4% increase, among the largest single hikes since the law’s inception. For a full-time worker (40 hours), that means €189.60 more per month, or €2,275 more per year – before employer-side social security contributions.

For gastronomy – where a disproportionately high share of staff earn near-minimum wages – this represents a massive cost shift. According to the DEHOGA Annual Kickoff Survey, 75.2% of businesses name personnel costs as their strongest cost pressure. Labor costs in hospitality rose 39.6% between Q4 2019 and Q4 2025. Only 19.3% of businesses rate their current situation as “good”, while 38.7% describe it as “poor.”

For surviving businesses, a paradox emerges: Personnel costs rise, the labor supply shrinks – and those who can afford to compete must fight harder than ever for top talent. In an industry with turnover exceeding 50%, every successful hire is gold – and every departure is costly.

“We’re experiencing our sixth consecutive year of real revenue losses. The sector is simultaneously grappling with rising costs and dwindling staff.”
DEHOGA Federal Association, Annual Kickoff Survey 2026

Why “Post & Pray” No Longer Works

Traditional job board listings reach only those actively searching. But in gastronomy, most staff don’t switch jobs via portals – they move through personal referrals, social media, and employer reputation.

The numbers are alarming: According to a Bertelsmann/IW study, 30% of young people actively seek apprenticeships on TikTok. Yet 96% of businesses completely ignore the platform. This chasm between where target audiences look and how employers recruit is one of the industry’s biggest missed opportunities.

Job communities like shjft address this exact gap: over 230,000 workers in its talent pool, 58% under age 30. The platform connects job seekers in hospitality, retail, and logistics with employers – not via traditional job ads, but through community, peer recommendations, and a mobile-first experience tailored to its audience.

What Employer Branding Actually Means in Gastronomy

Employer branding in gastronomy isn’t glossy PR. It’s three concrete levers:

1. Visibility beyond job boards. When a prospective chef or server Googles your restaurant, they should find more than a menu. A feature article in a trade magazine, an authentic employer profile with behind-the-scenes insights, or a team story – these are the touchpoints that make the difference. And they appear in AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity when someone asks: “Which restaurants in Munich are great employers?”

2. Differentiation through culture – not salary. In an industry where nearly everyone pays the same minimum wage, workplace culture decides. Flexible shifts, upskilling paths, internal mobility across brands, flat hierarchies – these are the compelling arguments that belong in an employer story, not a job ad. Hotel group 25hours proved it: Under the promise “Come as you are,” it launched an employer branding program explicitly targeting career changers and school dropouts – offering 25 non-salary benefits plus a talent management initiative featuring “Experience Weeks.”

3. Reach the right audience, where they are. When an employer story runs in a trade or lifestyle magazine and reaches a young, mobile demographic, it engages people who aren’t actively job hunting – but are open to the right employer. Combined with platforms like shjft, this creates reach no standalone job ad can match.

The DACH Comparison: No Country Has Solved It

This isn’t a German problem – it’s European. In Austria, 82% of hospitality and hotel businesses report skills shortages, according to a WKO survey. In Switzerland, apprenticeship placements in gastronomy have declined steadily since 2012 – prompting GastroSuisse to launch the state-funded Avanti! initiative: participatory leadership models, industry-wide employer attractiveness guidelines, and image campaigns.

In the UK, UKHospitality reports 170,000 jobs vanished in 13 months, following hikes in employer National Insurance contributions. Simultaneously, 132,000 positions remain unfilled – 48% above pre-pandemic levels, with annual turnover at 52%. Germany sits at a similar level – with over 50% turnover in hospitality.

What all DACH countries share: Solutions won’t come from higher wages alone. Switzerland’s Avanti! initiative deliberately focuses on employer attractiveness – not subsidies. For German restaurateurs, that means: Waiting for the next minimum wage hike and hoping it draws applicants? That’s wishful thinking.

Sources: IAB/Destatis, WKO Austria 2023

The Cost of Doing Nothing

An unfilled position costs an average of €29,000 per vacancy, according to industry benchmarks DAL. In gastronomy – where vacancies linger unusually long and each missing person directly hits revenue and service quality – the real damage is often higher: lost sales from shortened hours, overtime costs for remaining staff, declining service standards leading to worse online reviews.

The flip side: An employer branding package in a trade magazine starts at €890. Fill just one role faster, and the investment pays for itself many times over. Unlike a job ad that vanishes from search indexes after two weeks, a well-crafted editorial article stays online permanently – SEO-optimized and discoverable in AI search tools.

The Consolidation Advantage

The industry is shrinking. But the businesses that survive will emerge stronger. Those investing in their employer brand now build a competitive edge that grows with every competitor that closes. The Berlin School of Economics and Law has created the first scientific foundation for this with its Employer Attractiveness Rating for Hospitality, based on over 30,000 employee responses. Key insight: Employer attractiveness can be measured, benchmarked, and systematically improved.

For restaurateurs aiming to survive – and thrive – here are three concrete next steps:
First, define your employer story – what makes your business special as an employer?
Second, place that story where your audience finds it – in trade magazines, on social media, and via job communities like shjft.
Third, measure impact – track application volume, time-to-hire, and turnover before and after your campaign.

Conclusion: Employer Branding Isn’t a Gimmick – It’s a Survival Strategy

Gastronomy faces a double crisis: rising costs amid shrinking labor supply. Businesses that survive will be those with the best teams. And the best teams go where the employer brand resonates. With 2,900 insolvencies in 2025, one thing is clear: waiting is not a strategy. Businesses acting now will win the talent of a shrinking industry. Those who wait will become part of next year’s insolvency statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does employer branding cost for a gastronomy business?

Entry-level packages – including a feature article in a trade magazine – start at €890. Packages with guaranteed reach (“Verified Reads”) and a social media toolkit cost €2,490. Premium options – featuring multi-magazine coverage and a dedicated employer profile page – begin at €4,990.

How many skilled workers are missing in German gastronomy?

Estimates vary by methodology: The Federal Employment Agency cites roughly 2,700 for the 2024/25 annual average; DEHOGA estimates over 65,000 missing staff, including unskilled and temporary workers. The low BA figure reflects declining demand due to business closures – not genuine relief.

Why aren’t job ads enough anymore?

Job ads only reach active job seekers. 30% of young people search for apprenticeships on TikTok, yet 96% of businesses ignore the platform. Employer branding – via editorial content and job communities – engages passive candidates and builds long-term employer equity.

What role do job communities like shjft play?

According to shjft’s own data, its talent pool includes over 230,000 workers, 58% under age 30. Combined with editorial employer branding in trade publications, such platforms deliver reach no standalone job ad can achieve.

Does employer branding pay off for small businesses?

Especially for smaller operations, a single employer story article can be transformative – permanently online, SEO-optimized, and published within a professional magazine context. With an average unfilled position costing €29,000, even the entry-level investment of €890 represents a tiny fraction of that loss.

Further Reading

Return to Office 2026: Why Mandating Office Work Drives Away Top Talent (MyBusinessFuture)

The Skills Shift: Five Strategies That Actually Work (MyBusinessFuture)

Workforce Analytics: Data-Driven HR Decisions – Not Gut Feelings (MyBusinessFuture)

Header Image Source: Pexels / Huy Nguyen Dang (px:3437689)