Staff shortages ‘spread across more industries’

The survey - Report on Jobs: North of England - from KPMG indicates that the supply of permanent staff has deteriorated, at a time when the number of vacancies has continued to rise sharply. According to the study, permanent staff availability in the North of England fell for the 20th consecutive month in September. Permanent salaries in the North continued to rise at a sharp pace in September, as 30 per cent of survey participants signalled wage growth.

Chris Hearld, Leeds office senior partner at KPMG, said: “Northern businesses are outstripping the rest of the country in snapping up new staff. The voracious appetite of company bosses to make new hires and expand can only be positive news for our regional economy. The priority must now be on nurturing talent to replenish the labour pool. We must ensure that young people leaving schools, colleges and universities are equipped with the skills demanded by employers.”

Kevin Green, CEO of REC (The Recruitment and Employment Confederation), said: “The increasing lack of candidates continues to be a worry as shortages spread across more industries. It’s not just engineers and IT specialists that recruiters are finding it hard to source – blue collar roles like drivers are getting harder and harder to fill too.”

The report is based on questionnaires sent to around 100 recruitment and employment consultancies.