Shortage of workers as vacancies rise

Demand for staff increased last month in private firms as well as the public sector, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.

Their survey of 400 recruitment consultancies found that the availability of permanent and temporary staff fell at the sharpest rate for a decade.

Starting salaries for people placed in a permanent job increased last month, said the report.

REC’s director of policy, Tom Hadley, said: “The trend of growth in people finding jobs across all industrial sectors and regions continues. Starting salaries and hourly pay rates are up as employers battle to entice the talent they need. However worsening candidate shortages mean that the number of people available to fill both temporary and permanent jobs is falling at the sharpest rate in nearly a decade.

“We have a core group of long-term unemployed people whose skills don’t fit with current vacancies and are unable to access the jobs market.”

REC called on the Government to address restrictions on visas for highly skilled workers.