Workers call the shots as job vacancies boom
Posted 16th November 2021 • Written by BBC • • • • •
Job vacancies hit a fresh record high in October as employers continued to struggle with worker shortages, official figures show.
The redundancy rate was also largely unchanged despite the end of the furlough scheme in September, making it even harder to fill empty posts.
Employers report having to improve pay and benefits to attract new recruits.
Yet one analyst warned the trend was likely to continue amid a shortage of younger workers and those over 50.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 1.17 million job openings in October - almost 400,000 higher than before the pandemic.
Moreover, some 2.2 million people started a new job between July and September, it said.
'I can't get the staff'
Daniel Browne, who runs Blossom & Browne's Sycamore, a laundry service for London hotels, says trying to hire new staff has been "horrific" this year. He says Covid and Brexit have reduced his headcount from 140 to about 80, making it impossible to meet client needs.
He has had to put up wages amid a "price war" for temporary staff, and improve pay and conditions for existing staff in order to retain them.
"We're trying to create a happier workforce," he told the BBC. "We're starting at 8am, rather than 7am because that was the staff feedback we had. We're trying to raise our wage rates as much as we can and pass that cost onto our clients."
Furlough impact
Some had thought a rise in redundancies after the furlough scheme ended would make it easier to fill the high number of vacancies. An estimated 1.1 million people were still on the job support scheme in its final days.
Yet while redundancies rose slightly in the three months to September, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, close to its pre-pandemic level.
Moreover, there were 160,000 more workers on payrolls in October than September.
"It might take a few months to see the full impact of furlough coming to an end, as people who lost their jobs at the end of September could still be receiving redundancy pay," said Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics at the ONS.
"However, October's early estimate shows the number of people on the payroll rose strongly on the month and stands well above its pre-pandemic level.
"There is also no sign of an upturn in redundancies and businesses tell us that only a very small proportion of their previously furloughed staff have been laid off."
'People just aren't turning up'
Angela Burns is another employer struggling to recruit in the current climate. She runs a group of four hotels across the Midlands and Gloucestershire, and has at least 20 vacancies, with chefs and housekeeping staff among the most difficult positions to fill.
"There's a huge demand out there for people to come to our hotels. The phones have been so busy, but we're having to close areas of the hotel because we don't have the staff to cope," she told the BBC.
Angela said the recruitment process had been frustrating, and that many candidates "just don't turn up for interview". She added that people were looking for more than a just pay rise these days.
"It's about flexible working, it's fitting things in with their family, it's training, it's future career prospects as well," she said.