Pay pressures and skills shortages are on the rise, caused by an upsurge in
recruitment activity, according to a new report.
The latest monthly Report on Jobs from the Recruitment & Employment
Confederation (REC) and consultants Deloitte, reveals that the ongoing recovery
in business confidence has resulted in a sharp expansion of demand for staff.
Recruitment consultancies reported a marked growth in demand for all
categories of employees in March – both for permanent and temporary positions –
compared with the previous month. But the overall availability of candidates
deteriorated significantly over the same period.
For companies seeking to fill permanent positions, skills shortages were
most pronounced for executive/professional staff. Hotel and catering vacancies
were proving hardest to fill for employers seeking temporary or contract
employees.
Average salary rates paid to both permanent staff and temporary/ contract
staff sourced from recruitment consultancies showed marked growth, as a direct
consequence of rising demand.
Some 19.6 per cent of respondents said that average salaries paid to
permanent staff were up on the previous month, while 16.5 per cent of
respondents said that salaries had risen for temporary employees.
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REC managing director Gareth Osborne said: "Skills gaps are continuing
to open up and the rate is increasing, proving the importance of having a good
pool of labour for companies to choose from."
