8 Min. Reading time<\/p>\n
2,900 restaurant bankruptcies in 2025, almost 30\u202fpercent more than the previous year. 24,500 business closures in two years. At the same time, the number of reported vacancies fell from 43,000 to 2,700. That sounds like relief. It isn\u2019t. The gap isn\u2019t shrinking because the problem is solved, but because the firms that would need staff are disappearing. For the businesses that remain, competition for good people is getting tougher, not easier. Employer branding is no longer a marketing luxury. It\u2019s a survival strategy.<\/strong><\/p>\n The shortage analysis of the Federal Employment Agency<\/a> shows for 2024\/25 only about 2,700 missing skilled workers in the hotel and catering sector. In 2023 it was still over 43,000. At first glance a massive improvement.<\/p>\n The reality is different. Demand does not fall because teams finally are fully staffed. It falls because operators are shortening opening hours, streamlining concepts or shutting down completely. The Handelsblatt<\/a> headline summed it up perfectly: \u201cSkilled\u2011worker shortage in the hospitality industry \u2013 a thing of the past.\u201d Not because the situation improved, but because the businesses that would have needed staff are no longer there.<\/p>\n Job ads speak the same language: In October 2025 the number of hospitality job ads fell by 24.4\u202f% compared with the previous year \u2013 far steeper than the overall economic decline of 9.5\u202f%. In the accommodation sector it was minus 17.5\u202f%. The industry is shrinking faster than the labour market as a whole.<\/p>\n DEHOGA estimates the actual need at more than 65,000 missing employees when you include unskilled workers and temporary help. The IW Cologne<\/a> calculated an additional need of 8,000 skilled workers just for the period of the 2024 football Euro. The official BA figure of 2,700 reflects only the fraction that is still reported actively.<\/p>\n Sources: Creditreform 2025, Federal Employment Agency October 2025<\/p>\n In January 2026 the statutory minimum wage rose to 13.90\u202fEuro\u202f\u2013 an increase of 8.4\u202fpercent, one of the biggest single hikes in the history of the Minimum Wage Act. For a full\u2011time employee (40\u202fhours) that means an extra 189.60\u202fEuro per month, 2\u202f275\u202fEuro per year\u202f\u2013 gross salary only, without ancillary wage costs.<\/p>\n For the hospitality sector, where a disproportionate share of staff earn the minimum wage, this represents a massive cost shift. The DEHOGA annual kickoff survey<\/a> shows: 75.2\u202fpercent of establishments cite personnel costs as the strongest cost pressure. Labour costs in the hospitality industry rose in Q4\u202f2025 compared with Q4\u202f2019 by 39.6\u202fpercent. Only 19.3\u202fpercent of businesses rate their situation as \u201cgood\u201d, 38.7\u202fpercent as \u201cbad\u201d.<\/p>\n For the remaining firms a paradox emerges: personnel costs rise, the pool of workers shrinks, and the businesses that can afford it must fight even harder for good staff. In an industry with a turnover rate above 50\u202fpercent, every solid new hire is worth its weight in gold\u202f\u2013 and every departure is costly.<\/p>\n \n„We are experiencing the sixth consecutive year of real revenue losses. The sector is simultaneously battling rising costs and shrinking staff.“ A classic job posting on a job board reaches people who are actively looking. But in hospitality most employees don\u2019t switch jobs via job portals; they rely on personal recommendations, social media and the employer\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n The numbers are alarming: 30\u202fpercent of young people actively search TikTok for apprenticeships, according to a Bertelsmann\/IW study<\/a>. At the same time 96\u202fpercent of firms completely ignore the platform. This gap between the target group\u2019s search behaviour and employers\u2019 recruiting approach is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the sector.<\/p>\n Job communities like shjft<\/a> address exactly this: over 230\u202f000 workers in the pool, 58\u202fpercent of them under 30. The platform connects job seekers in hospitality, retail and logistics with employers\u202f\u2013 not through classic job ads, but via community, referrals and a mobile\u2011first experience that fits the audience.<\/p>\n Employer branding in the restaurant business isn\u2019t a glossy campaign. It rests on three levers:<\/p>\n 1. Visibility beyond the job board.<\/strong> When a prospective cook or service staff member Googles a restaurant\u2019s name, more should appear than just a menu. A editorial article in a trade magazine<\/a>, an employer profile with genuine insights, a story about the team\u202f\u2013\u202fthose are the touchpoints that make the difference. And they show up in AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity when someone asks, \u201cWhich restaurants in Munich are good employers?\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Differentiation through culture, not salary.<\/strong> In an industry where almost everyone pays the same minimum wage, work culture decides. Flexible shifts, training opportunities, internal mobility within a group, flat hierarchies\u202f\u2013\u202fthese are the arguments that can be told in an employer story but a job ad can\u2019t convey. The hotel group 25hours demonstrated this: under the promise \u201cCome as you are\u201d it built an employer\u2011branding programme that explicitly targets career changers and school\u2011dropouts\u202f\u2013\u202fwith 25 additional benefits besides salary and a talent\u2011management programme featuring \u201cExperience Weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n 3. Reach the right target audience.<\/strong> When an employer\u2011story article is distributed through a trade or lifestyle magazine to a young, mobile audience, it reaches exactly the people who aren\u2019t actively looking but are open to the right employer. Combined with platforms like shjft, this creates reach that traditional job ads alone cannot achieve.<\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t German, it\u2019s European. In Austria, a WKO survey reports that 82\u202fpercent of gastronomy and hotel businesses suffer from a skills shortage. In Switzerland, apprenticeship placement rates in the hospitality sector have been declining continuously since 2012 \u2013 GastroSuisse has responded with the state\u2011funded \u201cAvanti!\u201d programme: participatory leadership, industry recommendations for employer attractiveness, and image campaigns.<\/p>\n In the United Kingdom, UKHospitality says 170\u202f000 positions vanished in 13\u202fmonths as a result of the employer National Insurance increase. At the same time, 132\u202f000 jobs remain vacant, 48\u202fpercent above pre\u2011pandemic levels. The turnover rate stands at 52\u202fpercent annually. Germany is at a similar level with turnover exceeding 50\u202fpercent.<\/p>\n What all DACH countries share: the solution won\u2019t come from higher wages alone. The Swiss \u201cAvanti!\u201d initiative deliberately focuses on employer attractiveness as a lever \u2013 not on subsidies. For German restaurateurs this means: waiting for the next minimum\u2011wage hike and hoping it will lure applicants is futile.<\/p>\n Sources: IAB\/Destatis, WKO Austria 2023<\/p>\n An unfilled position costs, on average, 29\u202f000 Euro<\/a> per vacancy. In hospitality, where vacancies tend to stay open longer and every missing staff member directly hits revenue and service quality, the real damage is often higher: lost sales from reduced opening hours, overtime costs for the remaining team, and declining service quality that leads to poorer reviews.<\/p>\n The counter\u2011calculation: an employer\u2011branding package in a trade magazine starts at 890\u202fEuro. Filling just one position faster recoups that investment many times over. And unlike a job ad that disappears from search indexes after two weeks, an editorial article stays online permanently, SEO\u2011optimized and discoverable by AI search engines.<\/p>\n The industry is shrinking. But the businesses that remain become stronger. Those who invest in their employer brand now build an advantage that grows with every competitor that exits the market. The Berlin University of Applied Sciences for Business and Law has created, for the first time, a scientific basis with the Employer Attractiveness Rating for the Hospitality Sector<\/a>, based on more than 30,000 responses from employees. The insight: employer attractiveness can be measured, compared and deliberately improved.<\/p>\n For restaurateurs who want to survive and grow, there are three concrete next steps. First: define your own employer story \u2013 what makes your business special as an employer? Second: place that story where your target audience will see it \u2013 in trade magazines, on social media, through job communities like shjft. Third: measure the impact \u2013 application numbers, time\u2011to\u2011hire, turnover rate before and after the campaign.<\/p>\n Hospitality is caught in a double crisis: rising costs and a shrinking workforce. The businesses that make it through are those with the strongest teams. And the best teams go where the employer brand resonates. 2,900 insolvencies in 2025 show that waiting is not a strategy. Companies that act now will attract the skilled workers from a contracting sector. Those that wait will become part of the next insolvency statistics.<\/p>\n Entry packages with an editorial employer article in a trade magazine start at 890 Euro. Packages with guaranteed reach (Verified Reads) and a social\u2011media kit are priced at 2\u202f490 Euro. Premium packages with multi\u2011magazine presence and a dedicated employer profile page start at 4\u202f990 Euro.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n Figures vary by methodology: the Federal Employment Agency cites roughly 2\u202f700 vacancies on average in 2024\/25, while DEHOGA speaks of over 65\u202f000 missing staff, including unskilled workers. The low BA number mainly reflects declining demand due to business closures, not a genuine easing of the shortage.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n Job ads only reach active seekers. Thirty percent of young people look for apprenticeships on TikTok, yet 96\u202fpercent of companies ignore the platform. Employer branding through editorial content and job communities also reaches passive talent and builds a long\u2011term employer brand.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n Platforms such as shjft claim a pool of over 230\u202f000 workers, 58\u202fpercent of them under 30. Combined with editorial employer\u2011branding content in trade magazines, they generate reach that traditional job ads alone cannot achieve.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n For smaller operations, a single employer\u2011story article can make the difference: it stays online permanently, is SEO\u2011optimized, and appears in a professional magazine environment. An unfilled position costs on average 29\u202f000 Euro. An investment starting at 890 Euro is only a fraction of that.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n Return to Office 2026: Why Mandatory Office Attendance Drives Top Talent Away<\/a> (MyBusinessFuture)<\/p>\n Skilled\u2011Worker Turnaround: Five Strategies That Actually Work<\/a> (MyBusinessFuture)<\/p>\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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Why the declining figures are misleading<\/h2>\n
The Minimum Wage Effect: Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs<\/h2>\n
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\nDEHOGA Federal Association, Annual Kickoff Survey 2026<\/cite>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWhy \u201cPost & Pray\u201d No Longer Works<\/h2>\n
What Employer Branding actually means in gastronomy<\/h2>\n
The DACH Comparison: No Country Has Solved It<\/h2>\n
The Cost of Inaction<\/h2>\n
The Consolidation Advantage<\/h2>\n
Conclusion: Employer branding is not a costume, it\u2019s a survival strategy<\/h2>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
What does employer branding cost for a hospitality business?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
How many skilled workers are missing in the German hospitality sector?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Why aren\u2019t job ads enough on their own anymore?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
What role do job communities like shjft play?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Is employer branding worthwhile for small businesses?<\/strong><\/summary>\n
Read More<\/h2>\n