The hospitality industry in the UK employed more than 1.96 million people in 2007, according to latest Labour Force survey by People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism.

This represents a 5% year-on-year rise, with 94,400 more people now employed in the sector than in 2006.

Only contract catering saw a small drop in its workforce, which fell by 0.55% (or 1,000 people) to 181,000, down from 182,600 in 2006.

The biggest influx of new blood was seen in the hospitality services sector, which grew by 6.9% to add 27,100 new jobs.

However, restaurants (which employ the most people in the sector overall) was not far behind with a 5.4% boost to staff numbers, which increased by 27,000 bodies.

Staff levels at pubs and nightclubs grew by 7.36% (or 21,900 people) while hotels increased their employee numbers by 2.7%, which translates into 6,500 more people than 2006.

The figures for the Labour Force Survey are compiled by each year by People 1st.

Note: Hospitality services refers to hospitality occupations within an organisation where the main purpose is not hospitality (for example, an in-house cook working in an on-site cantee within a manufacturing company).

* In these years, individuals with both a main and a second job in hospitality are counted only once