The number of delivery driver and warehouse shifts has increased by 42% compared with this time last year, a new analysis has found.
Indeed Flex, a jobs board for flexible workers, also found that as the retail sector gears up for Christmas, wages for warehouse shifts had reached £22.18 an hour as companies grappled with the labour shortage.
Delivery drivers in some parts of the UK were seeing three times (up 266%) as many shifts available than at this time last year.
Indeed Flex said 79% more warehouse operative shifts available, and 40% more picker shifts, compared with last November.
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The number of vacancies across the UK rose to 1.17 million in October, 388,000 higher than before the pandemic, according to the ONS and difficulties in recruiting permanent staff is seeing many firms in retail and logistics opt to take on temporary workers to fill the gaps.
Higher wages are also offered by some employers. In Greater Manchester, for example, average hourly salaries for temporary warehouse workers have risen 40% from £7.16 last year to £10.04 in 2021 while warehouse shifts in London are paying a top rate of £22.18.
Novo Constare, COO and co-founder of Indeed Flex, said: “For many retailers and their supply chains, the Black Friday boom and the weeks leading up to Christmas are ‘make or break’ time. But this November the acute lack of staff is holding many businesses back and risks derailing their sales at the most important time of the year.
“Many of the staff shortages have been months in the making. Driving jobs have got progressively harder to fill since lockdown restrictions began to ease in spring, and we’ve recently seen many forward-thinking employers switch their staffing strategy to include a much higher proportion of temporary workers.
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“From the employer’s point of view, temps offer greater flexibility and enable them to take seasonal surges in demand in their stride. Interestingly, we’ve also seen a steady increase in the number of workers choosing the freedom of temporary work, which allows them to take shifts whenever and wherever they like – which for some offers a better work-life balance than a conventional full-time job.”
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