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Worker shortages threaten to derail London recovery

After-Work Socialising Encouraged As More Workers Return To Office
The volume of part-time workers available for work across the capital plunged at its quickest pace since records began, according to research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

LONDON is among the worst areas in the country being plagued by worker shortages.

The volume of part-time workers available for work across the capital plunged at its quickest pace since records began, according to research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG.

A paucity of overseas talent and workers who were previously in temporary jobs now trying to find permanent roles shrunk the pool of part time workers. 

In a bid to attract part-time staff, firms hiked pay to levels not registered since 1998.

Demand for permanent staff in London fell for the first time since March, the REC and KPMG said.

“The continued decline in candidates making themselves available for work, is now reaching critical levels and could stop London’s recovery in its tracks before it’s really got underway,” Anna Purchas, London office senior partner at KPMG UK, said. 

London businesses have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic, in part due to the capital having a large leisure and hospitality footprint.

The UK economy is being caught in a vice by supply chains breaking down due to a lack of labour.

A scarcity of HGV drivers stopped petrol supplies from being transported across the country, leading to petrol station forecourts closing, triggering mass panic buying, the worst of which was in London and the south east.

Research published by data provider IHS Markit this week showed the construction industry has been reduced to anaemic growth rates as a result of a lack of sub-contractors causing disruption to projects.

Permanent vacancies in the capital rose at the slowest pace since May, matching a trend seen across the UK as a whole. Temporary vacancies also slowed, for the first time in seven successive months of expansion.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “The scale of the shortages we are seeing cannot be explained by one factor alone, but are a major challenge to businesses’ ability to drive the prosperity of the UK in the months and years to come.”