Member Article

New figures highlight the recruitment headache firms are facing in Coventry and Warwickshire

The rise in job vacancies has brought into sharp focus the difficulties firms across Coventry and Warwickshire are having recruiting, according to a leading business organisation.

The national unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 per cent last month and vacancies reached 1.29 million.

Sean Rose, head of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said the statistics backed up the evidence from regional businesses.

He said: “There are so many businesses out there that are struggling to recruit and the latest labour market figures highlight that.

“There are a host of reasons for the falling unemployment rate and rise in vacancies, including many people removing themselves from the jobs market altogether.

“It means that lots of skills have been lost from a range of sectors and businesses are finding it difficult to bring in the people they need to be able to grow.

“Hospitality and construction are among those sectors that are struggling to recruit the most and it’s vital that solutions are found to ease that pressure.

“We’d encourage businesses to talk to the Chamber to see where we can support and help companies look at ways at growing their own pool of talent as well as recruiting in the skills they need immediately.”

British Chambers of Commerce Head of Economics Suren Thiru said: “While payroll employment rose slightly and the unemployment rate continues to fall, the headline figures continued to be flattered by significant underlying factors, including a shrinking workforce.

“Increasing vacancies highlights the historic hiring crunch facing firms. With rising economic inactivity confirming that lots of workers have seemingly quit the jobs market completely, severe staff shortages may remain a persistent drag anchor on economic activity.

“Although there was a rise in earnings growth, with inflation soaring, wages are still comfortably lagging behind price increases. If this continues as expected, real household incomes will be damaged further, stifling consumer spending, a key driver of UK economic output.

“Weakening consumer confidence may limit households’ willingness to support spending by running down savings built-up during Covid to offset declines in real pay. “The deteriorating economic outlook and the financial squeeze on businesses from soaring energy bills and the national insurance rise risks weakening labour market conditions by dampening recruitment and limiting firms’ ability to increase wages and invest in their staff.

“More must be done to help people access rapid retraining opportunities for in-demand jobs, including assisting older workers to turn to more sustainable jobs. Introducing a new skills tax credit to incentivise employers to invest in training for workers would help to revitalise employer-led training.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .