UNFILLED vacancies are still a ‘major headache’ for firms in Coventry and Warwickshire, according to business leaders in the region.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the unemployment rate has crept up to 3.8 per cent, despite there being more than one million job vacancies in the UK economy.
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “There will be some concern that the unemployment rate has risen slightly but the biggest issue for the economy is having more than one million vacancies that are not being filled.
“I’ve never known a time like it where we have businesses saying that they have orders and they have demand but they cannot get the people to fill those posts. It is affecting economic growth regionally and nationally.
“The Chamber has been making the case on this matter for months and we are also working regionally on the Local Skills Improvement Plan for the West Midlands with fellow Chambers across the area.
“It is absolutely fundamental that we solve this in the long term but, equally, there is a short-term crisis that needs to be fixed.”
The Chamber called for employers to do more to make workplaces more accessible and flexible.
It also said the Government should quickly put in place its Spring Budget childcare reforms, make sure people were supported back into work, and adopt a ‘pragmatic approach to immigration policy’.
The Chamber also called for more to be done to help get the UK economy grow after ONS figures showed it continues to ‘flatline’.
The ONS’s latest GDP figures showed zero growth for February, and fell in line with forecasts that the economy will drop by 0.3 per cent across 2023.
The Chamber’s head of policy Sean Rose said: “There are some fundamental drags on growth that are impacting businesses across all sectors, such as high energy prices, inflation and a recruitment crisis to name but a few.
“It’s vitally important that these issues are tackled to allow companies across Coventry and Warwickshire to flourish.
“We would like to see much more emphasis, support and encouragement for overseas trade as this is a massive driver for domestic, economic growth.
“And, as ever, we’d encourage firms who need support with their growth plans to get in touch with the Chamber and ask for help.”
