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Job vacancies: Which sectors are short of workers?
Joanne Ray
/ Categories: News, London

Job vacancies: Which sectors are short of workers?

Job vacancies are at a record high, rising to 1.17 million in the three months to October.

Latest figures also show the number of workers on payrolls jumped by 160,000 in October, despite the end of the furlough scheme.

Who's hiring?

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 388,000 more vacancies in this period (August to October 2021) than the three months immediately before the pandemic (January-March 2020), with record highs in 15 of its 18 sector categories.

Health

The health sector had the most vacancies between July and September with 183,000.

The King's Fund think tank says the NHS is facing a "workforce crisis".

According to the latest annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report, the sector is struggling to recruit and retain staff, with more unfilled posts now than at the start of the pandemic.

The government says extra funding and a regular recruitment drive will help boost the workforce.

Hospitality

The hospitality sector had 151,000 unfilled roles. Industry body UK Hospitality said chefs, security and front of house staff were particularly in demand.

The shortage is put down to a number a factors including job security fears in light of Covid, and Brexit.

It's leading some businesses to scale back their operations, with restaurants reducing opening hours and hotels closing off parts of their buildings.

Retail and transport

There were 91,000 vacancies in retail - Greggs and Next are among the high street names which have recently warned of staff shortages in the run-up to Christmas.

The British Retail Consortium said there were vacancies across the sector - for example in warehouses and logistics - and its supply chains, like flower-pickers, butchers and distribution centre operators.

There is also a UK-wide shortage of lorry drivers, with 53,000 vacancies in the transport sector.

Find out more information and read the article in full here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53685650

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