BUSINESSES in the region ‘cannot carry on’ amid an ongoing struggle to recruit new staff – so says a leading business organisation in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The latest labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics show the unemployment rate crept up to 3.9 per cent, while the number of employed and economically inactive people also rose.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce says the figures highlighted a key reason why companies are struggling to grow.
Chamber chief executive Corin Crane said: “In all my years in business, I have never known a situation where so many companies are in a position to grow but just can’t recruit the staff to deliver it. In this region, the Chamber has heard that same message over and over again.
“We simply cannot carry on as we are. It’s vitally important that we get the economy growing, and a labour market that works is crucial to that.”
British Chambers of Commerce Head of People Policy, Jane Gratton, said skills shortages and unfilled job vacancies were the ‘stark reality’ for many businesses across all sectors and regions.
She said: “The most recent BCC survey found that four-fifths of firms trying to recruit can’t get the people they need – this is a huge problem.
“We still have more than a million job vacancies which are damaging the economy by preventing firms from fulfilling order books and taking on new work.
“Training up our British workforce is a top priority for business. But that won’t happen overnight, and the pain being felt by business is very real and happening right now.”
She called on the government to help by introducing ‘a pragmatic approach to immigration policy’ that makes use of the skills of migrants entering the UK.
