Many businesses haven’t been able to fill seasonal roles

Latest figures have shown that there are currently more than 1.4 million active job postings that still need filling across the country.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast’s latest Labour Market Tracker shows that vacancy levels remain high.

According to the report, this not only suggests that demand is not slowing (despite a sluggish economy), but that many firms haven’t been able to take on enough staff to maximise revenue this Christmas.

REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry, commented on the findings, “While the jobs market has slowed across 2023, today’s data emphasises again that activity levels on hiring are still high by historical standards. In particular, the slower economy this year has not reduced hiring as much as it would have in previous cycles due to low labour supply and skills shortages.

“This is a particular challenge for sectors that have been struggling to hire, from hospitality and engineering to health and social care. Today, we report on a combined near 70,000 vacancies for health and care workers as the NHS braces for a peak winter period.

“Christmas is a time when many businesses make enough to keep them going for a large chunk of the new year. And although we have seen a rise in confidence among employers to invest and hire, that has not yet fed through into getting the tills ringing.

“This challenge is a worked example of the real risk of politicians not putting growth top of their Christmas list – without the right people, the economy is constrained, taxes remain high and public spending is lower, and we generate more inflation domestically.

“If politicians really want to wish business a happy New Year, they will put skills reform, a more sensible debate on immigration for work and its impact on growth, and an industrial strategy under the tree this Christmas.”

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