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ALMOST a third of firms have said they are experiencing a shortage of workers, according to new data released today.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that its latest fortnight business impact survey showed that 32 per cent of businesses with 10 or more employees said they were short of staff.
It highlighted that the health and social work sectors were particularly badly affected, with 51 per cent of these companies recording a shortfall.
It comes after official data showed that the unemployment rate increased to 3.7 per cent over the three months to October.
Vacancies also fell on an annual basis for the first time since the start of last year as recent cost pressures weighed on firms’ ability to hire new workers.
The ONS business survey also showed that 5 per cent of companies are planning to make redundancies over the next three months.
More than two-thirds of these companies said they need to reduce staff costs, while 29 per cent of firms say the action would impact jobs which are no longer required.
