Labour Shortages Pushing Up Pay

The UK labour market is tightening, with employers finding it harder to recruit staff, according to a survey carried out by market research firm Markit for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

It showed that pay rates for both permanent and temporary staff are rising quickly due to a continuing fall in the number of job applications. With official figures showing employment levels at record highs, this is likely to add fuel to the immigration debate. It is thought last year’s Brexit vote is starting to drive home EU nationals home, making it harder to fill a wide variety of jobs.

REC chief executive Kevin Green, said: "It's clear that employers are having to work even harder to fill jobs as vacancies rise and candidate availability shrinks. The parts of the economy most reliant on European workers are under even more pressure as many EU workers return home”.

He added that employers were not only struggling to fill vacancies that require the highly skilled but also people to fill roles including “chefs, drivers and warehouse workers”.