Recruiters warn companies’ growth to be hit by increasing skills shortages
Employers could be starting to rethink their growth plans because of continued skills shortages, research suggests.
A study found a slowdown in recent increases in the number of people placed into jobs by recruitment agencies.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG said a number of recruiters blamed candidate shortages for hampering their ability to fill vacancies.
The number of candidates continued to fall sharply, amid big increases in demand for staff, the survey of 400 recruiters found.
A shrinking pool of candidates and strong vacancy growth meant that rates of starting pay continued to rise sharply, particularly for those taking up permanent posts, said the report.
REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: “These numbers show a hugely positive jobs market if you are looking for work.
“While the pace of growth has dropped after a stellar first quarter, by any normal measure there are still lots of vacancies out there, offering improved wages.
“Compared to pre-pandemic, labour supply is still the big issue we have to solve.”
Claire Warnes, of KPMG, said: “Perhaps we are starting to see wider consequences of the systemic issues in the available workforce to support the growth opportunities which employers are chasing.
“We’ve seen the softest rise in permanent placements and temporary billings for over a year, and the growth in total vacancies hit a three-month low.
“Are employers starting to rethink their growth plans because of skills shortages which are proving difficult to fix as quickly as they need?”