“Employment has fallen for the second month running while vacancies are going up. With more people from the EU leaving the country and fewer arriving to work, it’s getting harder for employers to secure the number of people they need to fill roles. If they can’t find candidates, they won’t be able to meet demand, which means there is a risk that they won’t be able to grow and could even end up downsizing, relocating or closing down.
“Employers will need to continue to be resilient in 2018 as candidates are getting scarcer. Our data shows that some hirers are combatting skills shortages by increasing starting salaries to attract candidates, but this isn’t translating to a pay rise for the wider workforce – inflation is still outstripping pay growth by a long way.
“The government needs to take responsibility to ensure employers can plan ahead, be prosperous next year and keep creating jobs for people. What employers need is certainty about their access to EU workers – the transitional deal in the single market and what will happen afterwards – as well as certainty that the EU staff already performing vital jobs for them can stay. The business community will be looking closely at the next round of Brexit negotiations.”
